“We weren’t in there very long,” said Philip Rivers, following the San Diego Chargers (13-3) 23-20 victory over the Washington Redskins (4-12). “We got done what we wanted to get done.” Both the starters and the backups had quality playing time while extending the Chargers win streak to 11 in row, making the Chargers the hottest team in the NFL going into the playoffs.

San Diego Chargers fans are ready for a

good showing in the playoffs.

^Chargers.com

With no playoff implications, Sunday’s match up, in many ways, resembled a preseason game. Rivers, LaDainian Tomlinson, and many Chargers starters only played the first two series of the game before relinquishing playing time to the second- and third-string players.

Both of the drives led by the starters resulted in scores: a 47-yard Nate Kaeding field goal and a 12-yard touchdown pass from Rivers to Antonio Gates. The Chargers had a 10-0 lead before handing the game over to second-string quarterback Billy Volek and the rest of the reserve players in the latter half of the first quarter.

“It actually felt good to get hit again,” Volek said of his playing time. According to Volek, this playing time is “very important” preparation if he is needed in the playoffs as he was two years ago when he led the Chargers to victory over the Indianapolis Colts.

Volek’s first pass from scrimmage was a 50-yard bomb to Malcom Floyd that set up Kaeding for a 24-yard field goal, extending the Chargers lead to 13-0.

The Chargers second-string cornerbacks Dante Hughes and Antoine Cason initially did not fare as well. They gave up big pass plays by Jason Campbell, including an 84-yard pass to Malcolm Kelly for the longest completion by a Redskins quarterback in eight seasons. The pass also led the Redskins to the second of two quick touchdowns, giving Washington a 14-13 lead at the half.

With the starters out, the Chargers offense struggled to find a groove in the second half. Fortunately, their defense stiffened.

With just 4:33 to go in the game, Graham Gano kicked a 25-yard field goal, giving the Redskins a 20-16 lead.

“Nobody panicked,” said Volek. Twice, he found Buster Davis for big completions, including an 11-yard pass that set the Chargers up inside the 1-yard line. Two plays later, Volek found Mike Tolbert wide open for a 2-yard game-winning touchdown with just 35 seconds to go.

After the game, Norv Turner was pleased by the performance of reserve players who played relatively well against the Redskins starters. Turner was especially happy with former first-round draft choice Davis, who had six receptions for 52 yards. Davis has struggled with injuries and had not been on the active roster until Sunday’s game.

According to Turner, this is all part of what will make it difficult for opposing teams to prepare to play against the Chargers in the playoffs. “When people start looking at us with Vincent [Jackson], Malcom [Floyd], Legedu [Naanee], and Buster [Davis], if he is there, and put together with the other things that we can do, it gives us great balance on offense.”

With a bye this week, Turner’s game plan is to run practices as if this were any other week, with the exception of trying to get some of his players extra physical and mental rest.

“I hope things that we work on with our players will apply to any team that we are going to play,” said Turner. By finding commonalities among the possible teams, the Charges could play in the divisional playoff round, Turner can prepare against those common factors, thus maximizing the Chargers use of their time and their bye week advantage.

With the New York Jets win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday night, the playoff field is now set. Turner now knows that his opponent in the second round of the playoffs will either be the New England Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals, or the Jets, who respectively have the third, fourth, and fifth playoff seeds in the AFC.