Denver Has Incentive Against the Chargers : Pro football: Broncos seek edge in playoffs. Chargers look for perhaps a proper Henning send-off.

SAN DIEGO â€”  Today’s meaningful game is brought to you courtesy of the gagging Houston Oilers.

Houston’s 24-20 collapse Saturday in Giants Stadium not only improved the Chargers’ position in the first round of the draft, but it dramatically boosted the Broncos’ chances of advancing to Super Bowl XXVI.

If Denver (11-4) knocks off the Chargers (4-11) today in San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, it will earn a first-round bye in the playoffs and secure home-field advantage for its initial playoff game a week later.

“This is a big game for them, as big as if they needed it to get into the playoffs,” said Chargers Coach Dan Henning. “It’s a game that will determine how far they’re going to go in the playoffs.”

If the Broncos stumble, they will return home to play a wild-card game against the winner of today’s Jets-Dolphins’ contest. If the Broncos defeat the Jets-Dolphins’ winner, they must play the Oilers in the Astrodome the following week.

“Denver’s had the best home record in football over the past 10 years,” Henning said. “A first-round bye and home-field advantage are huge for the Broncos. . . . I’m sure we’ll see John Elway.”

The Broncos had talked about resting some of their regulars if today’s game had been rendered meaningless by Houston, but now they have a fight on their hands.

The Chargers have Houston’s pick in Round 1 of the draft as part of the trade for defensive lineman Lee Williams, but they have no hope for the ninth consecutive year of advancing to the playoffs.

But the Broncos will be playing against a team that refused to let Miami clinch a playoff berth last week. They will be playing against a team that has defeated them twice in a row in San Diego. And they will be playing against a team eager to reward its head coach with one last victory before the front office hands him the pink slip.

“I think we’ve been trying to help and we’ve been playing hard,” nose tackle Joe Phillips said. “A lot of us have been saying, ‘Hey, the treatment under this coaching staff has been more than fair, let’s do everything possible to help keep them.’ ”

The coaching staff might be on its way out, but quarterback John Friesz has arrived as the great hope for better days ahead. The very mention of Friesz’s name at this week’s Charger backer luncheon drew a strong round of applause.

“My expectations would have been that he would have played with a lot less poise this season,” Henning said. “The things that you find out about an individual when he’s put into the heat of the battle, they usually go one way or another. John has certainly gone in the right direction.”

Friesz made his first NFL appearance a year ago at this time in the Coliseum against the Raiders. He has started each game this season, after replacing Billy Joe Tolliver as the team’s future, and has thrown 11 touchdown passes with 12 interceptions.

“I look at where I was a year ago, and I’ve come a long way,” Friesz said. “Although the wins don’t show it, I think the team has come a long way, too. “Last year at this time, I was more concerned about being consistent with my cadence, getting the center exchange, getting the play called correctly and getting the signal from the sideline. Those things aren’t even a concern at this point.”

Friesz, who is 4-12 as a starter, completed 13 of 29 passes for 139 yards with an interception in a 27-19 loss to Denver earlier this season. He has worked closely with Henning this season, and his weekly progress has been evident.

“He understands my temperament very well,” Friesz said. “Someone asked me the other day why Dan doesn’t yell me when he yells at everyone else. I said he understands that’s not me. He knows it helps me a lot more to tell me what I did wrong, and why it was wrong.

“He’d let his temper go with Billy Joe because he understood that’s what got Billy Joe to play better. So it’s the little things he’s done to help me, and he’s been so patient. He’s taught me a lot about the professional game.”

Friesz, however, said he has not concerned himself with the rumors of Henning’s demise. “It’s something that’s out of my hands,” he said. “No matter what happens in my career around me, I’m going to try and make the most of the situation I’m in. I’m not going to get caught up in all that other stuff.”

Charger fans have little to get excited about beyond Friesz. They don’t know who will be coaching this team next season. They will no longer be watching a Ron Lynn-directed defense. Changes and more changes are on the horizon.

“I don’t see myself as being the life raft to this organization,” Friesz said. “Hopefully, I’ll be a part of it. At this level, more than any other, it takes a lot of people around the quarterback for the team to be successful. It’s not like college or high school where one or two players can carry a team.”

Tell that to the Broncos, who go as John Elway goes. Elway is the NFL’s winningest quarterback from 1984 to 1991 with 76 regular-season victories. The Broncos are 50-15 in Mile High Stadium with Elway as their starting quarterback. He has missed only three games because of injury since his rookie year (1983).

“He is a major part of their team,” Friesz said, “but you have to realize there are only a few quarterbacks in the league that are like that. The rest of us rely more heavily on the entire team.”

Elway will hand the ball to Gaston Green, who has run for 947 yards, he will throw to Michael Young, who has 42 catches, and he will count on a defense that ranks seventh in the league. But to stop the Broncos, the Chargers have to corral Elway.

“He’s having a good year,” said Lynn. “You look at guys like Elway and (Dan) Marino, and you’re looking at two guys that are playing on good teams that become championship-caliber teams because of the guy pulling the trigger. They can win a game by themselves.”

Some day . . .

“Who knows, John Friesz is durable, he’s accurate, he’s poised and from everything we’ve seen,” Phillips said, “this looks like the guy who can be that kind of quarterback for the San Diego Chargers.”