"To the victor went the spoiler role. But, well, not much more.

With their 38-26 win over the arch-rival Raiders on Sunday at O.co Coliseum, the Chargers drew some consolation in personally making sure Oakland joined San Diego as non-participants in the postseason. Since Denver lost to Kansas City, the Raiders could have captured the AFC West with a victory.

Instead, Oakland joined the Chargers and Denver at 8-8, but the Broncos won the tiebreaker with a better record against common opponents.

The victory brought to an end a season of futility for the Chargers, who spared themselves one final indignity, their first losing record since 2003.

The Chargers now embark on an offseason that's sure to be tumultuous. The overwhelming sense is that the win was the last as Chargers head coach for Norv Turner -- who was fired six years earlier as head coach of the Raiders – and the major wonder is whether General Manager A.J. Smith also will be dismissed after a second straight year sans playoffs."