One and done.

The showdown Sunday at Qualcomm Stadium presents that harsh reality, should the Broncos become the second NFL team since the advent of division play - behind the 2003 Vikings - to lose a three-game lead in a season.

In fact, if the Broncos lose to the San Diego Chargers, they'll have lost a three-game lead in three weeks.

But there's another equally black-and-white proposition on the line: Success or failure is at stake, too.

Win a single game on the road against the Chargers and the 2008 season is a story of overcoming a slew of injuries and a youthful team growing up to accomplish something not many expected during the preseason.

Lose before a large national television audience after a wire- to-wire, first-place sprint for 16 weeks in the AFC West, and words like "choke" and "collapse" will be associated with this year.

It might be just that simple.

"It is," Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey said. "Considering where we were and what we could do and all the talent we've got . . . you can learn stuff from it, but I hate learning from mistakes."

Tops among those errors would be not closing the deal when Denver had opportunities: losing at Carolina two weeks ago and losing at home to a reeling Buffalo team last weekend. Even then, it took a miracle finish by the Chargers on Dec. 14 in Kansas City, followed by a blowout victory at Tampa Bay to set up this play-in, playoff scenario Sunday.

But that's the past.

Now, as the saying goes, it's either make history or be history.

"You can look at it two different ways," Denver center Casey Wiegmann said about the stakes. "Offensively, we've done a great job, we just haven't scored enough points. But ranking second in total offense is saying something.

"On the other hand, if you don't get enough wins, it doesn't mean anything. I've been through that before in Kansas City, where we didn't make the playoffs and were ranked No. 1 in total offense. It's tough. It comes down to this game."

The meeting brings back shades of 1979. That year, Denver traveled to Southern California needing a win to tie San Diego in the standings and win the division based on tiebreaker scenarios, but the Broncos lost 17-7 to make it a moot point.

If the Chargers win Sunday, they'll finish 8-8 along with the Broncos but advance based on a superior AFC West record.

"If you don't make the playoffs, it's a failure," Broncos cornerback Dre Bly said flatly. "Our goal at the beginning of the season was to make the playoffs. But if we win this game, we can say we accomplished one of our goals. I'm not going to say we'd be happy going to the playoffs and losing in the first round. We want to win this game and, after that, we'll see what happens."

If San Diego prevails Sunday, it will become either the first or second team since Cleveland in 1985 to win a division title with a record of 8-8 or worse, since the Arizona Cardinals can do the same earlier Sunday. But for a Chargers team that also would become the only team in league annals to reach the playoffs after starting 4-8, there will be no arguments.

As for the Broncos, it's an opportunity to avert missing the postseason for a third straight year - that would be a first under coach Mike Shanahan - and tags like "Mile High Meltdown" that already have been bandied about should they lose.

"There should be no pressure," Denver defensive end Ebenezer Ekuban said. "The only pressure we should put on is from within - the pressure to play well, the pressure to do everything we can individually to help the team win. But from the outside looking in and the naysayers all saying we can't win, we're not feeding into that."

The importance of the game has been reflected in the amount of back-and-forth emanating from both locker rooms. The chippy chitchat has something to do with the stakes, partly to do with the controversial ending to the teams' last meeting and a rivalry intensified by the trash-talking from the December 2007 game at Qualcomm.

"I think they've actually had worse things happen to them this year than we've had," Bailey said. "Everybody thought they would win the AFC West. They go out, they lose to us on the call they lost to us, and just all kinds of stuff has happened to them - up and down, pointing fingers at each other. Now, they still have a chance to get in."

And the Broncos have just as good an opportunity, even if momentum is on the Chargers' side. The turn's reflected by odds makers, who've made San Diego an eight-point favorite.

"You win your games in the offseason," wide receiver Brandon Marshall said. "And we're going to see who had the better offseason."

That's one word - offseason - no one wants to consider right about now.

The Broncos just as well could be preparing for a playoff game at Invesco Field at Mile High next weekend against the Indianapolis Colts, the No. 5 seed, postponing their vacation time.

Success vs. failure.

"At this point, we've made it that way," Denver right tackle Ryan Harris said. "Had we taken care of business earlier, it would have been a different story. . . . But we've put ourselves in this situation and, fortunately, we're the only ones that can get refocused and take care of it ourselves. We win this game, we've won our first playoff game."

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