San Diego ? Chargers fans will finally have something to cheer about when LaDainian Tomlinson’s No. 21 will be retired at halftime of today’s game against Kansas City.

Too bad L.T. retired three years ago, because the free-falling Chargers desperately need help.

Yes, these are dismal times in San Diego. The Chargers have lost five straight games. Team chairman Dean Spanos has angered much of the fan base with his scorched-earth campaign to abandon San Diego and move to an industrial suburb of Los Angeles, if his fellow owners approve.

And here come local product Alex Smith and the Chiefs (4-5), who have won three straight following a five-game losing streak. The Chiefs are coming off a 29-13 dismantling of Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos and have won four of the last six against the Bolts.

The Chargers have only bad memories of their last game against the Chiefs. Needing simply a victory in the 2014 season finale to reach the playoffs, the Bolts collapsed instead, losing to Chiefs backup QB Chase Daniel as Philip Rivers was sacked seven times, four by Justin Houston.

So, with it looking like the Chargers will miss the playoffs for the fifth time in six seasons, the only thing left to do is celebrate L.T.’s brilliant run with the Chargers.

“It was really an honor to hand him the football and throw it to him and pitch it to him those years he was here,” quarterback Philip Rivers said. “I always said I had one of the best views in the house on most of those runs, seeing some of those cuts he made.”

Smith will definitely want to make the most of what could be his final visit to Qualcomm Stadium. He led Helix High to consecutive San Diego Section championships at the Q in his junior and senior years — Reggie Bush was a teammate — before going to Utah, which at the time was a rival of San Diego State in the Mountain West Conference.

Smith is on a nice roll. Dating to the third quarter of a Week 3 loss at Green Bay, he’s thrown 228 consecutive passes without an interception. Smith needs just six more without a pick to break the franchise record set by Steve DeBerg in 1990.

CHIEFS’ CAPSULE

KANSAS CITY (4-5) at SAN DIEGO (2-7)

3:05 p.m. today, CBS (WOW! channels 5, 13, 205, 213)

LINE — Chiefs by 3

RECORD VS. SPREAD — Chiefs 4-5, Chargers 3-6

SERIES RECORD — Chargers lead 55-54-1

LAST MEETING — Chiefs beat Chargers 19-7, Dec. 28, 2014

LAST WEEK — Chiefs beat Broncos 29-13; Chargers had bye, lost to Bears 22-19 on Nov. 9

AP PRO32 RANKING — Chiefs No. 15, Chargers No. 29

CHIEFS OFFENSE — OVERALL (24), RUSH (10T), PASS (25).

CHIEFS DEFENSE — OVERALL (13), RUSH (8), PASS (15).

CHARGERS OFFENSE — OVERALL (4), RUSH (30), PASS (1).

CHARGERS DEFENSE — OVERALL (24), RUSH (27), PASS (17).

STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES — Chiefs have won three straight following five-game losing streak to tie Oakland for second in AFC West, three games behind Denver. … Chargers have lost five straight to drop to last in division. … Against Denver, Chiefs had five interceptions by five players, and five sacks. … In last five games Chiefs have held opponents to 14 points per. In last two games Chiefs have 11 sacks, seven interceptions. … Chiefs swept Chargers last year, including 19-7 win in finale at KC behind backup QB Chase Daniel that knocked Chargers out of playoffs.