Posted by Andy Benoit

Antonio Gates HOPES to be back for the playoffs, but hope doesn’t carry a promise. The Chargers tight end is battling super painful plantar fasciitis in his foot.

“Time is the key. There’s not magical treatment for an injury like this,” Gates told Scott Bair of the North County Times. “Just because I hope to come back if we end up making the postseason, there’s no guarantee that I’ll be able to go. It gives me a chance.”

The Chargers have a decent replacement for Gates in veteran Randy McMichael, though McMichael does not create terrifying mismatches for opponents coming out of the slot.

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Posted by Andy Benoit

This isn’t news to anyone who was listening closely to Antonio Gates during his interview with the NFL Network down on the sideline prior to Thursday night’s Niners-Chargers game: the All-World tight end is expected to miss the rest of the regular season because of his foot injury.

According to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union Tribune, Gates, suffering from super painful plantar fascia, hopes to return for the postseason(if the Chargers make the postseason, that is). Acee has a very good source: Gates himself.

“I think that’s kind of the goal,” Gates said, reiterating what he hinted at with the NFL Network prior to the game.

Gates, who had started 96 straight games prior to this season, has sat out four of San Diego’s last six contests. Veteran Randy McMichael has done a serviceable job filling in as the starter.

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Posted by Josh Katzowitz

In his first game of the 2010 season, Chargers WR Vincent Jackson didn’t last one quarter before excusing himself from the contest with a calf injury. Then, he missed the next week.

For a guy who’d been shouting in the preseason about a new contract before refusing to sign his tender, holding out, getting his bluff called by San Diego GM A.J. Smith and serving two suspensions, this was not an especially impressive showing.

When he finally returned in last week’s 31-0 San Diego victory against the Chiefs, he tallied two catches for 29 yards. This, you might have asked, was the player who crowed about wanting one of the top WR salaries in the league? This, even though he originally was scheduled to make $3.2 million this season (that salary was later slashed to $600,000, so yeah, his refusal to sign his tender wasn’t a great financial decision).

If you had doubted Jackson’s abilities, look no further than the Chargers 34-7 victory against the 49ers tonight, because Jackson was nothing short of incredible. He finished with five catches for 119 yards and three touchdowns, and he was simply outstanding. His first score was his most impressive, when he out-leapt San Francisco CB Nate Clements for a 58-yard touchdown to give San Diego a 7-0 lead.

From there, the Chargers – and Jackson – never looked back.

San Diego is currently in the middle of its yearly December restoration project when it has to overcome a slow start to the season only to make a huge run to win the AFC West and make the playoffs.

With tonight’s win, the Chargers are a half-game back of the Chiefs, who face the Rams this weekend and could be without quarterback Matt Cassel again. Unquestionably, San Diego – which has won six of its past seven games – has the momentum going into its final two games of the season (against the Bengals and the Broncos, two should-be wins), as opposed to the Chiefs, who gone 3-3 in their past six games.

The Chargers still have to hope they can actually make the playoffs – if the Chiefs win out, it’d still be tough for the Chargers to get a Wild Card, even with a 10-6 record.

But …

But if San Diego can make the postseason, the Chargers will be a tough squad to play. Assuming TE Antonio Gates and WR Malcom Floyd are healthy enough to play, assuming Jackson continues to perform like he did tonight, assuming the Chargers defense continues to play well and assuming QB Philip Rivers continues to be an MVP candidate, this team will be a tough out in the postseason.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Jackson told the NFL Network after the game. “This team is moving in the right direction. I’m glad to be a part of it.”

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Posted by Josh Katzowitz

Two of the Chargers most important offensive players, TE Antonio Gates and WR Malcom Floyd, are inactive for tonight’s game vs. the 49ers, as reported by the NFL Network.

Gates, as we’ve well-documented, is suffering from plantar fasciitis, and though he played in Weeks 12 and 13, he’ll have missed the past two games with his absence tonight. Look for Randy McMichael to get plenty of time in his place.

Meanwhile, Floyd, who’s dealing with a bad hamstring, simply didn’t have enough time to get healthy during the Chargers’ short week of preparation. Fortunately for San Diego, WR Vincent Jackson will play today.

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Posted by Josh Katzowitz

In a blow for the Chargers offense, TE Antonio Gates – who’s been bothered by plantar fasciitis – is inactive for today’s game vs. the Chiefs.

After missing two straight weeks, Gates, still dealing with immense pain, managed to play the past two games, combining for 10 catches, 119 yards and a touchdown.

And though he seemed optimistic earlier in the week ("Something would have to be really, really hurting for me not to go,” he told reporters. “This is more of a dire need. Considering how important this game is and what this mean to our whole season I'd like to say that, speaking in the third person, Antonio Gates will play."), but as the week progressed and he kept missing practices, his chances of playing went way down.

Look for Randy McMichael to take his place.

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Posted by Josh Katzowitz and Andy Benoit

Another week, another migraine for Vikings WR Percy Harvin.

 
The Lions have to move one of their best defenders, Kyle Vanden Bosch, to the IR list, ending his season.


The Giants are letting the Dolphins practice at their facility Friday and Saturday as Miami prepares to face the Jets. Apparently, this was a big news story in New York. Mara says it must have been a slow news day. (It was.)


Also, the Dolphins will arrive in New York a day early in order to adjust to the climate and, at the request of owner Stephen Ross, see a Broadway show (Lombardi).


Yeah Jameel McClain is going to go ahead and appeal that $40,000 fine for blasting Pittsburgh’s Heath Miller last Sunday.


It doesn’t matter how much pain he has, Chargers TE Antonio Gates said he’s going to play vs. the Chiefs this Sunday.


Here’s what Tim Tebow had to say about Urban Meyer resigning.


Falcons clinch a playoff berth. (Okay, so we’re already assuming they’ve won this Sunday’s game against Carolina).


The Cardinals have a way of finding talented defensive tackles who can’t quite get their motors running early in their career. Is this year’s first-round pick Dan Williams another one of those guys? Depends how you interpret Ken Whisenhunt’s comments.


The Bucs confirm what we already knew about RT Jeremy Trueblood a few weeks ago.


Two NFL players made Forbes’ “best dressed” list: Tom Brady (of course) and Bengals LB Dhani Jones (a bowtie aficionado).


The Cowboys have had at least four Pro Bowlers every year since 2002. That could change this season.


The Lions could find themselves playing in a road atmosphere at Ford Field this Sunday.


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Posted by Will Brinson

Update (11:40): A spokesman for the Chargers tells CBSSports.com that the website issue you see below is a typo and that Gates is indeed only "questionable" as of right now. That means he's likely to at least test out his foot on the field before the game.

Antonio Gates is expected to play Sunday against the Oakland Raiders, even though he's dealing with an extremely painful case of plantar fasciitis (they're all painful, actually, but his involves a tear, as he told us recently).

However, the Chargers "official" injury report on their sit currently lists him as "Out" (see below and click for larger image if so inclined).



Now, the prevailing opinion is that someone at the Chargers website made a technical error and Gates was prematurely marked out. (We've reached out to Chargers PR, but haven't heard anything back -- it's fairly early out there right now.)

But it's entirely possible that Gates will miss the game against the Raiders -- the Chargers could believe they have a chance to handily dominate their flailing conference foe while also allowing their top receiving option to get healthy.

Gates is currently listed as "questionable" with the NFL, so it's possible it's an error -- unfortunately we probably won't know for sure until later as the Chargers don't start against Oakland until 4:05.

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Posted by Will Brinson

As we mentioned on Sunday, the San Diego Chargers are now officially contenders, even though they're currently out of the playoffs and sitting at 6-5. It's just what happens when you get white hot in the middle of the season and whip the Colts at home. 

Conveniently, we had Antonio Gates on the podcast today -- Gates talks about his injury (for those that don't know, plantar fasciitis is one of the most painful things in the history of the world), the Chargers run, Norv Turner as a coach, what turned their season around, how San Diego keeps managing to stop Peyton Manning, how they've overcome injuries, their outlook for December, LaDainian Tomlinson's resurgence, who his pick for MVP is right now and how he's working with Papa John's to find the most competitive fantasy football league on the planet (you can vote for a winner at PapaJohns.com and/or order that new, stupid-delicious-looking double-bacon/six-cheese pizza).

So check it out -- just hit the play button below and don't forget to Subscribe via iTunes.

If you can't view the podcast, click here to download .