Chargers look to make history against Broncos

How did we land in this powder-blue paradise?

- BY SAM FARMER

COACH Jim Harbaugh and the Chargers are off to a 2-0 start with a triumph in Brazil against the Kansas City Chiefs and on the road against the rival Raiders.

There's no guarantee the Chargers will pass through the gate of golden opportunity, but this 2-0 team has sawed the lock off the latch.

With Sunday's home opener against Denver, the Chargers have the chance to go 3-0 in the AFC West with a week to go in September. That's unheard of. The last time this franchise opened the season with three consecutive division games was 1988, and those Chargers stumbled to a 1-2 start.

These Chargers could be 3-0 for the first time since 2002 and are heading into a softer part of their schedule.

But how did it happen? Why did the NFL set up the Chargers schedule to go Chiefs, Raiders, Broncos when that kind of rollout is so rare?

Let's rewind the tape.

Why did the Kansas City game wind up in Brazil?

The league had the Chargers hosting a game in São Paulo, and because of the distance, it only made sense to make it an opener. (Just as the Rams will open next season in Australia.) The team can "protect" two home games and the league won't touch those, so the Chargers chose Washington and Minnesota. Pittsburgh couldn't go to Brazil, because the Steelers already have an international game in Dublin, and it couldn't be Philadelphia, either, because the Eagles opened in Brazil last season.