JIM BAIRD / Union-Tribune Igor Olshansky helped the Charger' defense hold Denver without a touchdown Monday night.

Playing perhaps as well as they have at any point in the past four seasons, the Chargers believe they finally know who they are.

“We all have the feeling we can go do something special,” Norv Turner said last night as he dressed for a triumphant Christmas Eve drive home.

The New England Patriots may be destined for perfection. The Jacksonville Jaguars are playing so well that no one relishes playing them in the postseason. The Indianapolis Colts are the defending Super Bowl champions and playing well.

But, after beating the Denver Broncos 23-3 last night in the first Christmas Eve game ever played at night, the Chargers are by some measure the league's hottest team.

Only the 15-0 Patriots and 13-2 Colts, who have won six straight, are on longer win streaks than the Chargers' five-game stretch.

“We're hot at the right time,” center Nick Hardwick said. “Where do we fit? We've got as good a shot as anybody does at this thing. Nobody is playing as good of ball as we are right now.”

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At least most of last night's first half was almost as good as it gets. After scoring a touchdown on the first drive of the third quarter, the rest of the game was about rest. A sloppy final 23 minutes was notable mostly for who did not play (Philip Rivers and LaDainian Tomlinson, among others).

It was Tomlinson's fourth game in a row with 100 yards, and last night was the second straight game in which he did not put his helmet on after halftime. He will enter Sunday's season finale 113 yards ahead of Minnesota's Adrian Peterson in the race for the NFL rushing title.

Rivers completed 17 of his 25 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown before sitting. Shawne Merriman rested the fourth quarter as well.

By striking quickly and bullying Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler all night, the Chargers (10-5) swept Denver (6-9) for the second straight season. It is the first time they have done that in back-to-back years since 1967-68. In the two victories over Denver this season, they outscored the Broncos 64-6.

The Chargers now stand one game from entering the playoffs as the No. 3 seed. A victory Sunday at Oakland would pit them against either Tennessee or Cleveland in the first round, at Qualcomm Stadium on the first weekend of January. They are clearly motivated to finish strong, the opposite of how they began.

JOHN R. MCCUTCHEN / Union-Tribune It was a long night for Broncos QB Jay Cutler, and not because he was waiting for Santa. He was sacked four times, here by Clinton Hart, and intercepted twice.

“September is the best thing that could have happened to us, because it's keeping us humble,” safety Marlon McCree said of the Chargers' 1-3 start. “We know we're playing pretty good. We respect Jacksonville, New England, all those teams out there. So it's going to make us tough to beat.”

As they approach the postseason, the Chargers are doing seemingly everything well – save for the fact they had to settle for three Nate Kaeding field goals and just one Tomlinson run to the end zone in the first half.

Still, no team in the league has allowed fewer than the 58 points the Chargers have over the past five games. And only Jacksonville and Indianapolis have scored more than the Chargers' 153 in that span.

“You've got to play at a high level going into the playoffs,” defensive end Igor Olshansky said. “Winning is a habit, playing well is a habit. You play like dog poo these last two weeks and then get up for the playoffs, it doesn't work like that.”

The Broncos gained 235 yards last night – 180 in the second half, after falling behind 23-0.

If not for a fumble by backup quarterback Billy Volek on a handoff late in the third quarter, which gave Denver the ball at the Chargers' 7 and led to a 23-yard field goal, the Chargers would have been the first to ever shut out a Mike Shanahan-coached team.

Statistics: Closing with a rush

The Broncos later failed on a fourth-and-1 from the 2 when linebacker Matt Wilhelm stuck running back Cecil Sapp for a 1-yard loss.

“Norv wants us to keep that edge; Teddy (Cottrell, the defensive coordinator) wants us to keep that edge, putting pressure on teams,” Wilhelm said. “What we did tonight on national television was a statement.”

Sure, the intensity waned at times in the second half. But the Chargers came out flying – especially on defense. A 10-0 lead built in just more than 12 minutes was a safe bet to stand, in that the Broncos were moving backward almost as often as forward. Cutler had been sacked four times before the second quarter was halfway over.

JOHN R. MCCUTCHEN / Union-Tribune A pass to the Broncos' Tony Scheffler in the third quarter is popped loose and intercepted by Clinton Hart (right).

“If our offense can move the ball and we can jump on teams with 10 points early . . . now they've got to pass,” Olshansky said. “Now the quarterback has got to make plays, and our rush is crazy. It's out of control. It's going to be tough. Cutler is definitely not good enough. Guys like (Peyton) Manning and (Tom) Brady, they've got a shot. But Cutler is not good – not yet.”

There was certainly little love between the teams. The Chargers have long considered the Broncos a dirty group. And professional athletes don't need much for extra motivation. So the Chargers recalled Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall saying back when Denver appeared to be making good of its season that the Broncos were the division's most-talented team.

“They heard about that all game,” Wilhelm said.

“This team said they were the best team in the division,” McCree said. “The worst thing Brandon Marshall could have done is went out and said this was their division and called us a bunch of superstars. We had some motivation.”

As the season goes forward, they have much more.

It won't be long until they talk about being disrespected. Or not.

“It's good the way we're hitting things in stride right now,” Merriman said. “But I'd rather keep flying under the radar. I think it's a good thing for us to fly under the radar a little.”

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Kevin Acee: (619) 293-1857; kevin.acee@uniontrib.com

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CLOSING WITH A RUSH LaDainian Tomlinson overtook the injured Willie Parker for the NFL rushing lead yesterday heading into the final week of the season: PLAYER, TEAM | ATT. | ATT/G | YARDS | AVG | YDS/G | TD LaDainian. Tomlinson, SD | 299 | 19.9 | 1,418 | 4.7 | 94.5 | 15 Willie Parker, Pit | 321 | 21.4 | 1,316 | 4.1 | 87.7 | 2 Adrian Peterson, Min. | 227 | 17.5 | 1,305 | 5.7 | 100.4 | 12 Brian Westbrook, Phi. | 271 | 19.4 | 1,291 | 4.8 | 92.2 | 7 Willis McGahee, Bal. | 294 | 19.6 | 1,207 | 4.1 | 80.5 | 7 Fred Taylor, Jack. | 223 | 14.9 | 1,202 | 5.4 | 80.1 | 5