Oct 20, 2013; Jacksonville, FL, USA; San Diego Chargers running back Ryan Mathews (24) celebrates a touchdown run with tackle D.J. Fluker (76) and center Rich Ohrnberger (74) during the second half of the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Field. Mandatory Credit: Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports
Last week I wrote a piece about how the San Diego Chargers leaped up SEVEN SPOTS in the NFL.com power rankings to the #13 position. In the article, I pointed out that if Miami lost to the Bills at home, and the Chicago Bears lost to the Washington Redskins, that we could possibly break the top ten. This depended on some other teams above us playing poorly, so it was a long shot. The Dolphins & Bears most certainly wouldn’t lose to the lowly Bills & Redskins, right? Well, they both lost, and the Chargers are now at the #11 spot after handily disposing of the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. The Chargers didn’t break the top ten, but they are right on the edge. Not bad for a team that was ranked in the mid-twenties earlier this season, eh?
This week will be a little tough to climb up in, as we are on a bye week. We probably won’t go down, but there would have to be some epic meltdowns for us to move up. The Green Bay Packers & Detroit Lions are both at 4-3 in the two spots above us. The Packers would have to lose to the Vikings on the road. After seeing the Vikings on Monday night, I doubt that is happening. Josh Freeman suffered a concussion, and the Vikings have already annihilated Christian Ponder’s confidence. The Packers should pull off the easy win. The Lions host the Dallas Cowboys, and COULD possibly lose this game. However, the Cowboys are ranked at the #12 spot, and could jump us with the win. I assume that with a win they would go up in rank, and we are on the bye week. Even though we beat them, the Cowboys are “America’s Team”, and hold the first place spot in their division.
Above the Packers, we have the New England Patriots who fell five spots this week, after an unusual loss to the Jets. They host Miami this week, so a Patriots loss might push them down past us, and we could rise to #10. It’s a long shot, but I said that last week too, and it almost all came true. Then the Cincinnati Bengals are right above the Pats in the #7 spot. The Bengals host the 15th ranked New York Jets. If Cincy lost to the Jets, the Pats lost to Miami, and the Packers lost to the Vikings… that could possibly catapult us into the top ten. But, I’m not sure where back-to-back wins against the Patriots and Bengals would put the Jets. Could some of these top ten teams end up behind us in the middle of the pack, after one weekend? One can only speculate. Either way, we can play our ways into the top ten by continuing to win games. That means taking care of business against Washington, Denver, and Kansas City when we get back from the bye week. Let’s keep this streak going!
Keep Bolting Toward Excellence
Peter Thompson