Chargers try to avoid another prime-time flop

SAN DIEGO (AP) — At the last minute, a group of corporate sponsors stepped up to bail out the struggling San Diego Chargers and make sure that Thursday night's game against the Kansas City Chiefs will be televised in Southern California.

Depending on the outcome, they might regret guaranteeing to cover a whopping 10,000 tickets that remained unsold 72 hours before kickoff.

Already prime-time flops twice this year, the Chargers (3-4) will try to get it right against the staggering Chiefs (1-6), arguably the NFL's worst team. Although the Chiefs have the same record as Jacksonville and Carolina, their issues run deeper than that.

Playing under the lights might merely illuminate what's wrong with these AFC West rivals, who play in the NFL's weakest division.