If it’s not a ‘must’ for Chargers, it’s close

Eric Weddle is honest, not hyperbolic. He gives candid assessments, not irrational statements.

So our interaction Wednesday was perplexing.

“This is a must-win,” the eight-year veteran said on Wednesday of the Chargers’ game this Sunday in Miami.

Being a hard-hitting journalist, I had a prodding follow-up:

Really?

“We’ve got to get this no matter what,” Weddle said, without hesitation.

So I went even deeper with my inquiries:

C’mon.

“We have to get this win by any means necessary – more so than anything we’ve done the first eight weeks,” he said.

Must win. Got to. Have to.

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Weddle sticking with his appraisal shouldn’t have surprised anyone. He’s made many bold statements in his career, most of which have come true, and none that I know of that he has recanted.

Still, a must-win game in the ninth week of the season is not an easy concept to accept.

The Chargers were in dire shape last year with four games to play. At 5-7, their mathematical chance of making the playoffs was 3.9 percent. But only their final two games were, in fact, must-win. Those are the only two in which losses would have made it certain they were not going to the playoffs.

But perhaps I’m being too literal.

I think weighing on Weddle’s mind -- as well as the mind of other players -- is that he’s been part of too many Decembers to remember that were easily forgotten.

We got used to the Chargers closing strong and it sending them into the playoffs. In 2007, they won six straight at the end, in ’08 won four in a row to come from three games back and win the AFC West. Last year, they went from 5-7 to 9-7 and made the playoffs as a wild card.

But they remember, too, the three years from 2010-12 that featured strong Decembers but no January games of consequence. Neither a 3-1 finish in ‘12, 4-1 finish in ‘11, nor going 7-2 over the final nine games of ’10 were enough.

They’re weary and wary.

“We want to lighten things up for ourselves so we don’t have that end-of-the-season stretch where we have to win every game to save our lives, to even have a chance,” cornerback Shareece Wright said. “We’ve got to win these early games … The schedule gets tougher later in the season.”

Oh yeah, it does.

A few weeks ago, we might have wondered if the Chargers’ final five games were going to be as difficult as it initially looked. There were questions about New England, San Francisco and Kansas City. No more.

As of now, the Chargers’ final five opponents – the previously mentioned three, plus Baltimore and Denver – all have winning records and are a combined 25-12. By that measure, no team has a tougher closing schedule.

You can certainly see the darn-near-necessity for a victory that would end a losing streak at two games and send the Chargers into their bye with a 6-3 record.

A win would allow them to rest unfettered, believing their lineup will be stronger (healthier) when they come back for home games against Oakland (0-7) and St. Louis (2-5) following the bye and before that brutal finish.

Lose, and they have that weight hanging over them on their week off. The games against Oakland and St. Louis are played in desperation. They’re going to be vital, regardless. Better to have some room for error.

Look around the conference. Baltimore, Buffalo and Pittsburgh are also 5-3. Cleveland, Kansas City and Miami are 4-3. That’s a big pack with three losses, lurking for one of the two wild card spots.

There wasn’t anyone as resolute as Weddle on Wednesday. In fact, it’s professional athletes’ nature, generally, to dismiss the idea of a “must-win” unless it is literally undeniable, and a couple players fixated on the term in outright denying this game fell in the category.

None of them, though, came close to denying the game’s severity and the precariousness of their situation.

“We treat them all as must-win, but there is no denying how big this game is,” Rivers said. “. . . 6-3 and knowing you’re coming back to a bye and getting some guys healthy, knowing you’re coming home for a couple in a row. We’ve been in worse positions, for sure. I think we’re in a great spot right now. But we’ve got to make sure we stay there.”

Got to.