COSTA MESA, Calif. — The Chargers will face the Denver Broncos in their season finale on Sunday before they head into the postseason. There is a dilemma for coach Brandon Staley and his coaching staff: whether they should rest players or pretend it is another game.

There are playoff scenarios to keep in mind. If the Chargers beat the Broncos, they will be the fifth seed and face the winner of the AFC South. If the Chargers lose and the Baltimore Ravens beat the Cincinnati Bengals, the Ravens get the fifth seed, and the Chargers are the sixth.

So, it is a “would you rather play the Bills, Bengals, or possibly the Chiefs, or would you rather face the winner of the AFC South?”

“Our approach is definitely going to get shot to win this ballgame and play as well as we can play heading into the playoffs,” Staley said. “I think that there’s certainly an advantage to be in the No. 5-seed [for re-seeding], from where I stand, so we’re going to try and get there.”

Staley has decided to approach this weekend to win. Now things can change, especially if there are game-changers who miss practice this week or are limping into Sunday. The Chargers could let them sit.

“Then, the case-by-case nature of the players, I think that that is the approach that we’re going to take, in terms of whether or not to sit them. If there’s something that we feel like that would be a good decision, we’ll take that case-by-case,” Staley said.

The Broncos are coming off a close loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. They have numerous players on IR, but they are still dangerous, and it is never easy to play in Denver. Quarterback Russell Wilson is playing up and down, but the team overall looks to be trying to play upset.

They are riding a four-game winning streak and might have found their offensive stride. They broke a ten-game streak of not scoring a third-quarter touchdown or failing to score 30 points in a game.

Justin Herbert and the offense found a rhythm with the running game last Sunday, rushing for over 190 yards and two touchdowns. Staley wants his offense to be balanced so that the offense doesn’t become one-dimensional like in years past.

As of the last four weeks, the team is hitting its offensive and defensive stride, so that could be the main reason why Staley wants his team to play to continue building cohesion.

“I think that going into the playoffs, you have to be playing football to get to where you want to go, so we’re going to try and maximize our group heading into the playoffs, for sure,” Staley said.