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Ed Hochuli has had a pretty crappy week. It all started Sunday, when he gifted the Broncos a victory in the closing seconds of the Denver-San Diego game, and, as hard as it is to believe, it's gotten worse from there.

Chargers head coach Norvell Turner voiced his displeasure Sunday night (and again Monday), Jerry Jones weighed in with his well-reasoned thoughts, and the internets excoriated the freakishly muscular attorney-during-the-week for basically ruining any chance San Diego had of making the postseason. (On the upside, every game from here on out takes on "MUST-WIN" status, which is always fun.)

In light of what has transpired, Hochuli would like to take this opportunity to let you know, football-viewing public, that nobody feels worse about what happened than he does. (Well, except maybe Norv.)

You may have heard something about how yesterday's Broncos-Chargers game ended. No, not head coach Mike Shanahan's decision to go for the two with Denver trailing 38-37 and just a few seconds on the clock, but referee Ed Hochuli hosing San Diego out of a huge division win and causing Norvell Turner to actually show emotion in his post-game presser.

The reactions have been predictable -- Hochuli screwed the pooch -- but if you're Turner, the Chargers, or their fans, yeah, I got some bad news: the league probably won't punish Hochuli or his guns. From NFL Network's Adam Schefter:

While appearing on a radio show this morning in Denver, an interesting question was posed from a fan in San Diego.

He wanted to know if referee Ed Hochuli would be fined or suspended for his blown call during Denver's dramatic 39-38 victory over San Diego.

Upon further review, here is the determination: There is no discipline - i.e., fine or suspension - unless an official does not know a rule or misapplies a rule. In this case, Hochuli did not do that. He simply missed the call.

Shockingly, Turner's still bummed about the whole sordid mess a day later. From his press conference earlier this afternoon (via Monday Night Countdown):

The Patriots offense, especially Tom Brady, slept through much of the first half, and yet, they're leading the Chargers 14-9. New England's seven drives ended: punt, punt, pick, touchdown, punt, touchdown, punt. And the second score was courtesy of a Philip Rivers interception that gave the Patriots possession 24 yards from the end zone.

San Diego hasn't exactly rolled over, either. Unlike the Week 2 get-together that was a blowout after about 15 minutes, the Chargers defense has been solid. Particularly, Quentin Jammer, who has been impressive against Randy Moss.

Rivers started strong, but threw two costly interceptions. Still, the fact that he's been able to play despite a bum knee is noteworthy. LaDainian Tomlinson, on the other hand, carried the ball twice and hasn't been seen since. CBS' sideline reporter Steve Tasker said that LdT hasn't experienced an injury setback, but Norv Turner had decided to keep him on the bench in favor of Michael Turner.

Michael Turner has been great, but let's get one thing straight: no matter how bad you might think Norvell is as a head coach (hey, he did win a playoff game), he's not going to keep LdT on the sidelines unless he's very, very hurt.

To have a chance in this thing, the Chargers are going to have to avoid turnovers and stop trading field goals for touchdowns. And for the Pats, it might help if Tom Brady quit playing like he was hanging out with John Daly this weekend.

I'll be honest, I didn't see this coming. Sure, Chargers' general manager A.J. Smith has a pretty good eye for talent, but he has a lousy eye when it comes to hiring and firing NFL head coaches. Or at least he did through the first month of the season.

After finishing 14-2 last season, Smith "Billicked" Marty Schottenheimer last spring. And hired Norvell Turner, one of the worst NFL head coaches to have more than three shots at the job. Which explains why the 1-3 record didn't come as much of a surprise to anybody, although it made Chargers fan plenty irate.

But a funny thing happened on the way to another Turner-led losing season: San Diego went on a 10-2 run, won the division, and will host the Titans this weekend in the wild-card round. And oh, yeah, Smith got a new deal out of it:

A.J. Smith yesterday signed a five-year contract extension through 2014, believed to be the third-richest and the longest pact among the league's general managers.

"The rewarding thing for me is . . . the fact that he wants me to continue with him into the future," Smith said, referring to team President Dean Spanos. "He obviously must be comfortable."

I suppose that is rewarding, particularly since he is now the third-richest NFL GM. Smith has done a swell job of putting together a great Chargers team, and apparently the little fact that he fired Schottenheimer for personal reasons (apparently, the two weren't fond of each other ... to say the least), didn't affect Mr. Spanos' decision to keep Smith around.

And hell, if Turner wins a playoff game Schottenheimer may be a long forgotten memory. Who woulda thought that three months ago?