San Diego ? Except for the sellout crowd, the San Diego Chargers’ game today against the Kansas City Chiefs will have all the charm of an exhibition on a hot August night.

In this surprising season, that’s not a bad thing for the Chargers.

Instead of playing out another wretched season and then disappearing until the draft, the Chargers (11-4) are preparing for their first playoff appearance since 1995.

They clinched the AFC West two weeks ago and are locked into the AFC’s No. 4 seed, which means they’ll play host to a playoff game next weekend, most likely Saturday.

Which means Pro Bowlers LaDainian Tomlinson and Drew Brees might not play today to stay healthy for the playoffs. Philip Rivers — now way behind fellow rookies Ben Roethlisberger and Eli Manning — might get to throw his first NFL pass.

The Chargers would like to win, so the only real meaning the game has is the chance to match the club record of 12 victories, last accomplished when Air Coryell was revving up in 1979.

That, and the chance for their coach to bring out yet another Marty-ism.

“I think, first and foremost, we want to win a football game,” Marty Schottenheimer said. “I think we’ve given evidence that when you win one, it makes it easier to win the subsequent one.”

In Schottenheimer’s case, that’s a huge consideration.

Schottenheimer presided over an eight-game winning streak that ended Sunday when the Chargers blew a 15-point fourth-quarter lead and lost, 34-31, in overtime at Indianapolis.

That defeat included any number of things that could mean a quick playoff exit. The offense stalled in the fourth quarter, the defense broke down, Peyton Manning’s record 49th TD pass of the season helped force OT, and the Chargers allowed a kickoff return for a touchdown.

And during the last decade, Schottenheimer has been a lot like Christmas decorations — put away by early January. He’s lost his last four playoff games, dropping his postseason record to 5-11. In both 1995 and ’97, his Chiefs went 13-3, clinched a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, then lost in the divisional round.

While the Chargers are in the playoffs for the first time in nine seasons, Schottenheimer is there for the first time in his last five seasons. He missed the postseason in his last year in Kansas City in 1998, his only season in Washington in 2001, and his first two years here.

Playing time today will resemble an exhibition game. Those starters who do play will make way for reserves, and some, such as Tomlinson and Brees, might not play at all.

“It’s quite possible we’ll rotate some people through,” said the 61-year-old Schottenheimer, who’s got a good chance of winning the Coach of the Year award for the first time. “You know, I don’t know if I’ve been in this exact circumstance before, or I’m so old I can’t remember what I did in those days.”

Doug Flutie, 42, has been the third-string quarterback most of the year, but will be No. 2 for the playoffs, as he has the last two games. He’s played just once this year, after Brees sustained a concussion Sept. 19 in a home loss to the New York Jets.

Rivers is eager for his first real action. A training-camp holdout and Brees’ inspired play have kept him on the bench for all but six plays of mop-up duty at the end of a 26-point win over New Orleans on Nov. 7. He handed off three times, then took a knee three times to end it.

“It’ll be good to get out there and play,” Rivers said. “Not playing all season, really since the preseason, it obviously will be a notch faster and will probably take a couple of plays or so to get going. But I would be thrilled to get the opportunity and hopefully help us get a win.”

Brees wants to play as much as possible, but he might not have a choice.

“We want to go in, look sharp and play well,” he said. “We just want to be healthy and ready to go for the playoffs.”

The Chiefs (7-8) have had a rough calendar year. They were 13-3 last season and earned a first-round playoff bye, then lost at home to Indianapolis in the divisional round.

The Chiefs lost eight of their first 11 games this season, but have won four straight since their last defeat, 34-31 on Nov. 28 at home against San Diego.

The Chiefs sound a lot like the Chargers did in recent seasons.

“Everybody’s competing for jobs next year,” defensive end Eric Hicks said. “And we’re competing for Lamar Hunt, the greatest owner in the league. We don’t want to let that man down. He doesn’t care what time of the year it is. You’d better win those games.

“We want to go out showing those teams we’re still one of the top teams in our division. We want to have the momentum going into next year.”