The San Diego Chargers believe they've yet to play up to their potential through the first two weeks of the 2009 season. The Miami Dolphins, on the other hand, could be telling themselves they've got the rest of the NFL right where they want them.

The still-winless Dolphins hope to bounce back from a hard-to-stomach loss when they travel to Qualcomm Stadium this Sunday to take on an injury-riddled Chargers team in a Week 3 battle between two AFC playoff participants from last season.

Miami nearly executed a well-designed game plan to perfection in Monday's showdown with the powerful Indianapolis Colts, as the reigning AFC East champions used a punishing and persistent ground attack to play an effective game of keep-away from Peyton Manning and his dangerous offense. They didn't do it quite well enough, however, as the Colts' legendary quarterback had enough time to engineer a go-ahead touchdown drive with under 3 1/2 minutes to play that dealt the Dolphins a stinging 27-23 defeat.

The Dolphins lost despite possessing the football for a whopping 45 minutes and seven seconds and piling up 239 rushing yards on a weary Indianapolis defense.

Miami, which suffered a 19-7 road setback to a quality Atlanta squad in Week 1, now finds itself in a familiar position as it prepares to play its third straight game against a team that reached the postseason a year ago. The Dolphins also dropped their first two tests of the 2008 campaign before rebounding to win 11 of their next 14 tilts to edge out New England for the AFC East crown.

The Chargers are also coming off a game they felt got away from them, as an inability to take advantage of scoring opportunities and a couple of untimely mistakes resulted in a frustrating 31-26 loss to Baltimore last Sunday at Qualcomm Stadium. San Diego amassed an impressive 474 total yards on the Ravens' vaunted defense, but were forced to settle for short Nate Kaeding field goals in four trips to the red zone that proved to be the difference in a close contest.

Quarterback Philip Rivers threw for a career-high 436 yards and a pair of long touchdown strikes, but also had two interceptions deep in Chargers territory that the Ravens converted into 10 points.

San Diego played the game without the services of 2006 NFL MVP LaDainian Tomlinson, who's dealing with a sprained right ankle that could also keep the star running back out of Sunday's clash. Two other former Pro Bowl performers, nose tackle Jamal Williams (torn triceps) and center Nick Hardwick (ankle surgery), sat out last week as well and will not be available to face the Dolphins.

SERIES HISTORY

The Dolphins lead the all-time regular season series with the Chargers, 12-10, including a 17-10 home victory when the teams met in Week 5 of last season. Miami is 7-0 against San Diego since the Bolts last won a game in the series, a 1993 home triumph that came by a 45-20 count. The Fins have won in each of their past three trips to San Diego.

The postseason series between the Chargers and Dolphins is also tied, at two games apiece. San Diego won AFC Divisional Playoff contests over Miami in 1981 and 1994, while the Dolphins were winners over the Bolts in a 1982 AFC Second- Round Playoff and a 1992 AFC Divisional Playoff.

Chargers head coach Norv Turner is 1-2 in his career against the Dolphins, including a win while with the Redskins (1999) and a loss while with the Raiders (2005). Turner served as offensive coordinator of Miami in 2002-03. The Dolphins' Tony Sparano is 1-0 against both Turner and the Chargers as a head coach.

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