Our NFL Thursday miniseries travels across the country this week, from D.C. to L.A. That’s right, it’s time for the Chargers franchise, our first one in this sequence to have a plus-.500 winning percentage in its history. Surprised? We are, as this organization has never won a Super Bowl, and its only championship came when the team played in San Diego during the AFL years. Yet the Chargers have been good, mostly.

In fact, the team played in 5 of the first 6 AFL title games, albeit losing four of them. The Chargers started in Los Angeles (1960), and they moved to San Diego by the 1961 season, staying there until 2017 when they returned to L.A. Overall, the franchise has 15 division titles and 20 postseason appearances—and enough victories in 63 seasons to have a .501 winning percentage overall. It’s hard to complain, but … yeah.

No. 5: 2004 San Diego Chargers

With a 12-4 record, the Bolts won the AFC West Division, thanks to the No. 3 overall ranking in the SRS. San Diego had the No. 3 offense and the No. 11 defense, but they seemed to get caught a lot in the postseason by inferior teams during this era. Against the New York Jets, the Chargers lost 20-17, at home in overtime: the San Diego kicker missed a 40-yard field goal attempt that would have won the game, too. Just brutal.

The offense featured three Hall of Fame players: running back LaDainian Tomlinson (18 Approximate Value), quarterback Drew Brees (17), and tight end Antonio Gates (13). The defense was led by linebacker Donnie Edwards (13). The San Diego offense gained over 400 yards against the Jets, yet it had trouble scoring. Kicker Nate Kaeding, one of the most accurate kickers in NFL history still, simply missed the FG.

No. 4: 2005 San Diego Chargers

Oddly, this team seemed to have a hangover from the above result, going just 9-7 to finished third in the AFC West. Yet? It also ended up the No. 3 team again in the overall SRS rankings. This was based on the No. 5 offense and the No. 13 defense. Playing the toughest schedule in franchise history, though, cost this team a postseason berth. The Chargers lost three of their final four games to end up on the outside looking in.

Tomlinson (18 AV), Brees (15), and Gates (13) were joined this time atop the value charts by nose tackle Jamal Williams (14). But the schedule … San Diego lost five games by a combined 14 points as it got off to a 5-4 start, and then the slide at the end ruined all chances of claiming a wild-card berth. Overall, the Chargers played the hardest schedule in the NFL this season, with 11 opponents finishing over .500 on the year. Ouch.

No. 3: 2006 San Diego Chargers

A 14-2 record set a high-water mark for the franchise wins in a season; this team also snagged the No. 2 overall ranking in the SRS, based on the No. 1 offense—led by MVP Tomlinson—and the No. 7 defense. This team should have pushed deep into the postseason. But no … playing the cheatin’ New England Patriots, the Chargers lost their first playoff game, at home, by a 24-21 score. The defense gave up 11 points late to lose it.

Tomlinson (26 AV), QB Philip Rivers (18), Williams (15), and Gates (14) were the team leaders in value. San Diego’s two losses came by a combined 6 points during the regular season, both on the road against playoff teams (Baltimore and Kansas City), and now we know the Patriots of this era were cheating with the SpyGate revelations. But at the time, this seemed like a shocking upset and more Chargers’ “choking” …

No. 2: 1961 San Diego Chargers

The best of the AFL teams from San Diego, this team lost the AFL title game as we explored elsewhere. With a 12-2 record, though, the Chargers won the AFL West Division and finished No. 2 in the overall SRS. The team had the No. 3 offense and the No. 1 defense. The championship game was a defensive struggle as both teams combined for 13 turnovers, and the Houston Oilers ended up winning by a strange 10-3 score.

Cornerback Dick Harris (18 AV), defensive end Earl Faison (17), DE Ron Nery (16), defensive tackle Ernie Ladd (15), and free safety Charlie McNeil (15) spearheaded the team. The defense did its job against the Oilers, forcing 7 turnovers, but the offense really struggled in return, of course. The biggest difference may have been the fact Houston protected its QB from sacks, whereas San Diego lost 49 yards via the sack.

No. 1: 1979 San Diego Chargers

This was the sabermetric peak of Air Coryell, as these Chargers won the AFC West with a 12-4 record. San Diego was No. 2 on offense, No. 2 on defense, and No. 2 in the overall SRS rankings. But the team committed 5 turnovers at home against its divisional playoff opponent, the Houston Oilers (again!). The 17-14 loss was painful as the Chargers outgained Houston by 121 yards, even as the Oilers were missing their star RB.

The top six players on this team were on the powerful offense, led by QB Dan Fouts (16 AV), wide receiver John Jefferson (12), tackle Russ Washington (12), and guard Ed White (12). The Oilers actually were playing without both their starting QB and starting RB, but they still got the job done against San Diego, somehow. Fouts had a disastrous day, throwing 5 interceptions and no touchdowns: Air Coryell grounded!