Analyzing the Los Angeles Chargers’ 2019 regular season schedule

The Los Angeles Chargers have released their regular season schedule! Time to break down the who, what, and when of their 2019 opponents…

The Los Angeles Chargers announced their official regular season schedule today, laying out their path to the post season in 2019. How do their 16 games play out this season? Let’s dive in and take a look…

Chargers’ opponents: Weeks 1-4

Week 1: Home vs Indianapolis

The Chargers have only won one opening-week game under Tom Telesco:

• 2013: Houston Texans comeback win
• 2014: Arizona Cardinals comeback win
• 2015: Chargers comeback win
• 2016: Kansas City Chiefs comeback win
• 2017: Missed field goal in Denver
• 2018: Poor performance against the Kansas City Chiefs

This time around, the Chargers get one of 2018’s hottest AFC teams in the Colts. They will face off against former offensive coordinator Frank Reich, who is now their head coach. Both the Chargers and the Colts had strong performances in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs, but fell short against the Patriots and Chiefs, respectively, in the Divisional Round.

The best matchup of the game will be any time wide receiver Mike Williams is followed by Malik Hooker over the top at free safety, both potential selections in the 2017 NFL Draft for the Chargers, with the team opting to go with the former.

Week 2: At Detroit

The Detroit Lions are like the Chargers-lite of the NFC, usually boasting a good amount of talent with a gunslinger for a quarterback but never doing much outside of the regular season. The two teams have not played each other since the Qualcomm home opener in 2015, in which the Chargers overcame a 21-10 halftime deficit to beat the Lions.

Something tells me not having to cover Calvin Johnson will make this game a whole heck of a lot easier.

Week 3: Home vs Houston

The Texans often play well in the regular season, but always fall short in the playoffs. The last time the two teams met, the Chargers held on to beat them 21-13 thanks in large part to a solid performance from the defensive secondary.

Most of the pieces remain the same (pre-draft): Lamar Miller at running back, DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller at wide receiver, Jadeveon Clowney on defense. J.J. Watt did not play in that meeting, but should be healthy and ready to go against what for now is Sam Tevi and Russell Okung.

Week 4: At Miami

For whatever reason, the Miami Dolphins are the Achilles heel of the Chargers in the regular season. In their last five meetings, the Dolphins have won four, including a 37-0 shut out in 2014 and a StubHub Center home opener ruiner in 2017.

The Dolphins will be placing their trust in Ryan Fitzpatrick to lead the team this time, which is either a great idea or terrible idea game-to-game.