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Chargers odds of winning Super Bowl have worsened, according to Las Vegas

By Travis Wakeman

Apr 29, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers first round draft pick Joey Bosa (C) poses for a picture with general manager Tom Telesco head coach Mike McCoy and president of a football operations John Spanos during a press conference at Chargers Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 29, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers first round draft pick Joey Bosa (C) poses for a picture with general manager Tom Telesco head coach Mike McCoy and president of a football operations John Spanos during a press conference at Chargers Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports /
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A couple months ago, I posted that the San Diego Chargers opened at 50-1 odds to win Super Bowl LI. Since then, the team produced good results through the free-agent market and had what many feel was a solid draft.

So how could those odds have dropped to 80-1, which was reported by Eric D. Williams of ESPN?

The Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns are the only teams that are seen as a bigger longshot to win it all next February. The San Francisco 49ers, Jacksonville Jaguars and Detroit Lions have all been given a better chance of winning the big game. Does this sound right, or are the oddsmakers in Vegas just a bunch of fools?

Of course, most fans in San Diego are going to choose the latter option, but let’s all take our Chargers glasses off and try and look at things from a different standpoint, just for fun.

In the NFL, you are going to sniff a Super Bowl if you can’t compete in your own division. Over the course of the last two seasons, the Chargers are 2-10 in games against the AFC West division, including 0-6 last season. So, how are the Chargers going to turn that around this season.

Let’s take a look at the rest of the division.

Denver Broncos: Say what you want about their quarterback situation, but the Broncos won the Super Bowl with the worst version of Peyton Manning…. ever. Yes, the team was picked over in free agency, but the Broncos are the defending champions and until further notice, they must be treated as such. On top of that, they have won the AFC West every year since 2011 and they have lost a total of 14 regular-season games over the course of the last four seasons.

Kansas City Chiefs:  After a 1-5 start to the year last year, Andy Reid’s team ripped off 11 games in a row before finding itself inside Gillette Stadium against the New England Patriots in the divisional round of the playoffs. It’s a team that will be competitive and could be very good if it can prove it can overcome the loss of Justin Houston.

Oakland Raiders: Seats on the bandwagon for this team are filling up quickly. But Jack Del Rio could have the silver and black competing for a division title, and soon. Not only does the team have the impressive young combination of Derek Carr and Amari Cooper, it brought in free agents Sean Smith, Kelechi Osemele and Bruce Irvin. That’s got folks in Oakland buzzing.

They still have to put it all together, but it’s a start in the right direction.

So where does that leave the Chargers? The team made some calculated free-agent signings that made a lot of sense. Joey Bosa, the No. 3 overall pick in the draft, will certainly bring some excitement for fans who are hoping that Philip Rivers reaches the Super Bowl. But it’s going to be a tall task in this division.

Perhaps putting the Chargers behind a team like the 49ers in terms of Super Bowl odds is a bit much, but given the Chargers’ recent history within the division along with the fact that the division contains the defending champions and two teams who have just as much promise as San Diego, if not more, 80-1 odds sound about right.

Super Bowl in 2017, maybe?

If you disagree and think the 80-1 odds are crazy, you better get out and place your bets before Vegas comes to its senses and figures out what you already know.

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