SAN DIEGO — Junior Seau stood in the locker room with a smile on his face, talking about the San Diego Chargers' big win.
The amazing thing was, Seau had little to do with it.
While the 10-time Pro Bowl linebacker was in the trainer's room receiving treatment on his strained groin in the second half, his teammates regained their punishing touch in beating the AFC West rival Denver Broncos 27-10 on Sunday.
"We got a win, and that's the best anti-inflammatory," said Seau, who was hurt on a Broncos' reverse in the first half. "Big plays really had a big effect on this game. It turned the game around."
The Chargers forced two turnovers in Denver territory in the second half, both setting up touchdown passes from Doug Flutie to Jeff Graham.
The Chargers had been feeling the heat for blowing fourth-quarter leads in losing their previous two games. After starting the season with an AFC-best 3-0 record, they were in danger of dropping to .500.
"We learned from those experiences the last two weeks. I think it built character," said defensive end Marcellus Wiley, whose deflection led to a fourth-quarter interception.
"We walked into the fourth quarter this week and I think everybody was like, 'All right now, no more.' We made that statement today," Wiley said.