Stan Humphries threw to the right guys and Scott Mitchell didn't, meaning San Diego got its revenge and Miami didn't get its playoff spot.
Humphries threw three touchdown passes in a span of 8:40, two to Anthony Miller, and rookie Natrone Means scored on runs of 1, 65 and 2 yards Monday night, leading the Chargers past Miami 45-20 for the Dolphins' fourth straight loss.Mitchell was intercepted three times as the Dolphins (9-6) failed to clinch a wild-card spot. They can still do so with a victory at New England on Sunday. Even if they lose that game they'll still have a sliver of a chance, but would need help from several teams.
"The game next week is a playoff game as far as we're concerned," tight end Keith Jackson said. "We hate to go to Foxboro and that cold weather. That's why we wanted to win here. A team that's won nine games can certainly win one game."
The Chargers (7-8) avenged a 31-0 loss at Miami last Jan. 10 in the divisional playoffs.
The Chargers looked like a playoff team, even though they are out of the postseason running for the 10th time in 11 years. The 45 points were the most they've scored since beating Miami 50-28 in San Diego on Sept. 7, 1986. San Diego's season-high six TDs matched the total from its previous seven home games.
San Diego safety Darren Carrington intercepted Mitchell twice in the first half. The first, followed by a 20-yard return, set up John Carney's 32-yard field goal 4:35 into the game.
The second, with a 16-yard return, gave San Diego the ball back at its 47 with 17 seconds left in the first half. After a 12-yard completion to Shawn Jefferson and an incompletion, Humphries threw a 41-yard Hail Mary pass that caromed off safety Chris Green and into Miller's hands in the far right corner of the end zone for a 24-13 lead as the half expired.
Humphries completed 19 of 29 passes for 248 yards, with no interceptions. Mitchell was 24 of 40 for 260 yards, with one TD. Means gained 118 yards on 18 carries.