LA Chargers: Five games that will make or break the Chargers’ season

Week 16 vs. Denver Broncos

I can wholeheartedly say right now before the season even begins, that this Week 16 matchup against the Denver Broncos will have some sort of playoff implications. Either the Chargers or Broncos will be in a position to make the playoffs, if not both teams, and this Week 16 matchup in LA will be very intriguing.

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I think the most realistic outcome is that the Bolts are floating somewhere around .500 yet again and need to win this game to ensure a spot in the playoffs. Like it or hate it, I think the Broncos are going to be a solid team this year and could either be vying for the Chargers’ playoff spot or be ahead of the Chargers in the standings.

We could be hopefully optimistic that the Chargers will be in a position to make the playoffs no matter what by Week 16 but that simply won’t be the case. With how close the wild-card race is every season, the Chargers are going to be heading into the last two weeks of the season needing to at least split against the Broncos and Chiefs.

It is hard to imagine the Chargers getting a big-enough lead in the playoff race where they could go 0-2, especially with one of the games being against Denver, and still make the playoffs.

Of course, there is also the possibility of this game not mattering for the Chargers if they are on the losing end of too many games, including all of the ones mentioned. That absolutely is a reality that I don’t think we can rule out.

Hopefully, this game does matter for the LA Chargers, because that means they are in the running for a playoff spot. If it does matter, then it will matter a lot.