Again the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs, San Diego opened with a home divisional playoff game against the Buffalo Bills, who possessed the league's top-ranked defense and had beaten the Chargers earlier in the season. Buffalo led 14–3 at halftime before the Chargers came back to win 20–14, the winning touchdown being scored by backup wide receiver Ron Smith with barely two minutes to play. San Diego won despite having to change their offensive formation when blocking tight end Gregg McCrary was injured early in the game. "It took a lot of our offense away from us," said Coryell, who won his first playoff game at the fourth attempt. McCrary would also miss the AFC Championship game against Oakland, forcing Winslow to do more blocking and less receiving. Despite again having homefield advantage, San Diego committed three early turnovers and fell behind 28–7 to the Raiders, eventually losing 34–27. Coryell said, "We didn't play well enough to win... Actually, I was very proud of our comeback in the second half—but it wasn't quite enough."
