The LA Chargers have a tough road to making the playoffs a third year in a row, but it's not all bad. In a year full of full-court presses and three-point heaves, the Chargers have some layups as well.
Very few things are guaranteed in the NFL. In fact, it's a bit sacrilegious to say that an outcome is guaranteed because, as the old adage goes, anything can happen on any given Sunday. But some games are just so lopsided that we can't help ourselves but pencil in a W in permanent marker.
The Chargers have three of these games. This article will age terribly if they somehow lose any of these games, but as far as we are concerned, the outcome is already decided.
Week 1 - Arizona Cardinals at LA Chargers
Jim Harbaugh's Chargers start the season with one of the biggest softballs imaginable. Not only do the Bolts get to open the season at home, they do so against an Arizona Cardinals team that may already be looking at the 2027 NFL Draft for quarterbacks.
The timing couldn't be any better for the Chargers, either. With a new offensive-minded head coach and the most exciting rookie running back in the league, there is a world in which Arizona picks up steam and looks like a competent NFL offense.
There will be far more growing pains in Week 1 than there will be later in the year. This sets a talented Chargers defense up to feast on an offensive still searching for an identity. Offensively, Mike McDaniel gets a chance to kickstart his head coach audition with a bang in Week 1.
Anything can happen in the NFL, but it would be catastrophic if the Chargers don't open the season with a win over the Cardinals.
Week 12 - New York Jets at LA Chargers
Another home game against a team that should be focused on the 2027 NFL Draft, this time later in the season. The Chargers have a true gauntlet on their schedule and the Jets coming to town couldn't happen at a better time for the playoff hopefuls.
Even the most optimistic Jets fans will find something to like about this team. New York has officially transitioned into QB purgatory with Tyrod Taylor slated to start, and doesn't have much established talent around him to speak of.
Realistically speaking, the Jets should be losing games as early as Week 1 to ensure they get their pick of the litter at quarterback. By November, New York should firmly be in tank mode and might even have a head coaching vacancy if it really gets off to a bad start.
And just in case you were wondering, this is going to be my four-month-old son's first Chargers game. He will be six months at the time, and I want to start him off with a win. That's how confident Chargers fans should be in this matchup.
Week 16 - LA Chargers at Miami Dolphins
The only other layup on the Chargers' schedule comes on the road in Florida late in the season. Neither game against the Las Vegas Raiders are lay-ups because of the divisional component and there is no other pushover on the Bolts' schedule.
But man, are the Miami Dolphins a pushover.
Miami has one of the worst rosters in the league after gutting the team post-McDaniel. The Dolphins made one of the most aggressive signings in recent league history by giving Malik Willis a three-year, $67.5 million contract. Maybe the Dolphins will be right about Willis, but the franchise doesn't have the best track record with paying quarterbacks.
McDaniel is going to look to put on a clinic in this game regardless of how the Chargers are playing. He will almost certainly prove by this point that Tua Tagovailoa was holding him back in Miami, and there is no better way to put a stamp on that statement than by stomping his former team.
Having this game so late in the season while the playoffs are on the line is such a blessing for the Chargers. We can safely pencil in a W.
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