In early October, the San Diego Chargers appeared headed for a losing season after a difficult stretch to open their year. Key injuries on offense and late meltdowns put the Chargers behind the pack early with a 1-4 record to open their season. Despite the usual solid play from Philip Rivers, the team just wasn’t able to recover from the losses of Keenan Allen and Danny Woodhead quick fashion to avoid an early slide.
Since that horrendous start, the Chargers have suddenly turned into one of the NFL’s hottest teams due to the heroics of Rivers. Back to back wins against playoff contenders has been a catalyst for a revival of hope in San Diego that this season could still be a success despite the losses of two of their best players.
After a massive AFC West over the Denver Broncos, the Chargers upped the ante with an overtime win on the road against the Atlanta Falcons to beat two division leading teams in consecutive weeks. That newfound success after a poor start has the discussion going on if the Chargers can come back from 1-4 to end up in the playoff hunt come winter.
Chargers win in OT!
Josh Lambo hits the 42-yard FG for the win as Melvin Gordon totals 3 TD to give San Diego big road win. pic.twitter.com/Go6Hs81f5g
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 23, 2016
When you look at the numbers and not the results in the standings, the Chargers have arguably been the best team in the division. San Diego has the second best point differential in the division, but they have a win over the differential leaders in the Denver Broncos to make their case for the best team in the AFC West.
The Chargers also rank eighth in defensive DOVA after Week 7, with the insertion of rookie Joey Bosa into the starting lineup at defensive end the catalyst for a surge in production from the defense. Bosa’s presence and the all around improvement from the defense has more than made up for the losses of Woodhead and Allen on the offense.
Still, despite the Chargers high level of play this season, it is hard to argue for their chances of making the playoffs when they can only lose two more games to have a strong chance of the AFC West title or a Wild Card berth. That reality of slim margins for error the Chargers are living with significantly lowers their odds of a playoff push even if they continue to keep their high level of play for the remainder of the season.
San Diego’s remaining schedule features a road trip to Denver this week in addition to two late-season home games against the Oakland Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs. Those three games along with a road trip to take on the AFC South-leading Houston Texans will significantly challenge the Chargers chances of going the final nine games of the season with only two losses.
The other factor working against the Chargers is how strong the AFC West is this season. Beyond the problem of having three remaining games against teams in their division with winning records is the fact that all three teams are unlikely to concede ground in the standings. Denver, Oakland, and Kansas City are all also coming off big Week 7 wins and don’t appear to be going anywhere.
What could change things for the Chargers’ AFC West chances would be a series sweep over the Denver Broncos. If the Chargers can pull it off and upset the Broncos this week in Denver, things could get interesting even if the Chargers would still be chasing the Raiders and the Chiefs.
Rivers, on #SDvsDEN: "This is a big game. There's no denying it."
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) October 26, 2016
Philip Rivers and the Chargers defense deserve plenty of praise for how they have handled the adversity of their season. But the harsh truth is that their 1-4 start likely sunk their playoff hopes regardless of any admirable effort they can bring to the table. The Chargers suddenly have a very dangerous thing going on the field, but in the standings, they are unlikely to have a chance at a postseason run until next year. Blame it on injuries or a slow start, but it is still likely too little too late for an underrated Chargers team to contend this year.
