Awful timing for Chargers’ secondary

Of all the games for this to happen.

Of all the weeks for this to go down.

Athletes talk all the time about trying to get their timing right, but the timing on this couldn’t be worse.

See, the Chargers’ secondary wants to show you something. It wants to prove that it has leapt beyond the realm of mediocrity and into the sphere of elite.

Unfortunately, as its most ferocious foe of the season awaits, that secondary has never been so frail.

Thursday night, the Chargers will meet the Broncos in Denver. For most teams, that’s like meeting an anaconda in the Amazon.

With Peyton Manning at quarterback, it could be 14-0 by the end of this paragraph -- especially when you consider how feeble San Diego’s back end is.

But before we go forward, let’s first look to the past. Let’s look at how something weak became strong and may grow stronger yet.

The Chargers’ secondary, after all, has been waiting a lot longer than four days for a game like this -- it’s been waiting all season.

“You live for those type of moments, those opportunities to show how good you really are, because there is always going to be speculation until you play against one of the best passing teams in the NFL,” Chargers cornerback Shareece Wright said. “And if we can be who we are against those guys, then I feel like there will be no more speculation.”

At just over 258 yards per game, the Chargers had the fourth-worst pass defense in the NFL last year. They also had the sixth fewest interceptions (11) and allowed more yards per pass (8.0) than all but one team.

Maybe you can blame some of that on a lackluster pass rush or an injury here or there, but images of Derek Cox getting burned downfield can’t help but flood the memory bank, too.

The truth is, the Chargers’ defensive backs got worked last season. They composed themselves by the end of the year to help San Diego sneak into the playoffs -- and even held the Bengals to 10 points in a wild card win. But overall, that secondary was second-rate at best.

Flash forward to 2014. Flash forward to the drafting of cornerback Jason Verrett. Flash forward to the cutting of Cox, maturation of Wright, and signing of fellow cornerback Brandon Flowers.

Flash forward to a back end that has given up just 209.0 passing yards per game this year -- good for the third fewest in the league.

After a 22-10 win over Buffalo in Week 3, Chargers safety Eric Weddle said that he and his teammates had stressed the fact that they not only wanted to be become a better secondary, but one of the better secondaries in the league.

So have they?

Actually, we don’t know. We can’t make much of an evaluation based on results against quarterbacks like EJ Manuel, Blake Bortles and Derek Carr -- the last of which actually torched the Bolts for four touchdowns passes.

But against Manning and the Broncos? Against a team that, despite having only played one team with a losing record, ranks third in the NFL in passing offense? That could have showed us something.

Problem is, Verrett will likely be out with a shoulder injury, Flowers will likely be out with a concussion, and the Chargers will likely field a secondary that couldn’t stop the Chiefs last week.

The mantra all year with the Bolts has been “next man up,” but it could very easily be “another man down.” As backup cornerback Richard Marshall was repeatedly beaten in Sunday’s loss to the Chiefs, it was clear that the team’s depth had its limitations.

Now, that battered Chargers’ back end has to go against the greatest regular-season quarterback in history four days after he threw four touchdowns.

This was supposed to be the game the secondary was waiting for. At this point, however, you figure it’s Peyton who can’t wait.