The Epic in Miami is one of the greatest games ever played, and the Chargers won it. January 1982, San Diego and the Dolphins trading blows in the Florida heat until players were collapsing, Kellen Winslow blocking a kick on a day he could barely stand, the Chargers surviving 41-38 in overtime. For a franchise that has known a lot of January pain, that one was pure glory.

A history of authoring and absorbing epics

The Air Coryell teams of the early 1980s made January must-watch television. A decade later the franchise reached its only Super Bowl after the 1994 season. The LaDainian Tomlinson and Philip Rivers years brought a stack of talented teams and a stack of heartbreaks, including a divisional loss to the Patriots that a late fumble decided. Close, always close.

The collapses, and the present

The Chargers also know the other side of a comeback. After the 2022 season they led a wild-card game in Jacksonville 27-0 and lost it. This past postseason, now in Los Angeles, they ran into a buzzsaw and fell 16-3 to the Patriots in the wild-card round. The epics keep finding them, in both directions.

One of the greatest games ever won, a single Super Bowl trip, and a long ledger of the cruelest January endings. Chargers fans, your franchise lives at the extremes, the Epic in Miami and the 27-0 collapse in the same history book. From San Diego to Los Angeles, you have earned an easier January than the ones you keep getting.