After an embarrassing 35-6 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars this past Sunday, which represents the worst defeat of the Jim Harbaugh era, by the way, the Los Angeles Chargers will finally take their much-needed bye week to rest up and get some things right before the homestretch of this 2025 season.
With the loss to the Jags, the Bolts dropped to 7-4 on the year but still hold the No. 6 slot in the AFC playoff picture, which is essentially a 10-team race at this point. And here's what that 10-team race looks like heading into Week 12.
- Denver Broncos (9-2, 1st AFC West)
- New England Patriots (9-2, 1st AFC East)
- Indianapolis Colts (8-2, 1st AFC South)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (6-4, 1st AFC North)
- Buffalo Bills (7-3, 2nd AFC East)
- Los Angeles Chargers (7-4, 2nd AFC West)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (6-4, 2nd AFC South)
- Houston Texans (5-5, 3rd AFC South)
- Kansas City Chiefs (5-5, 3rd AFC West)
- Baltimore Ravens (5-5, 2nd AFC South)
As you can see, the Chargers are still in decent shape, both in the AFC West race and the wild-card race. Things could be better, of course, but with the way things stand now, a 3-3 finish to the season should conceivably be enough to get the Bolts into the postseason in one way or another. That likely doesn't win them the division, but a 4-2 finish might, especially if one of those four wins completes the season sweep of the first-place Denver Broncos in Week 18.
But let's not look too far ahead just yet. Instead, let's have a look at the immediate future and the games that the Chargers need to be paying close attention to in Week 12. The Broncos are on a bye this week as well, so the Bolts can't gain any ground in the division. But there are still plenty of things to keep an eye on, starting with Thursday night's matchup.
Important Week 12 games that will impact the Chargers' playoff odds:
Buffalo Bills at Houston Texans
This is actually an interesting situation for Los Angeles. On one hand, a Bills loss would automatically move the Chargers into the top wild-card slot. While both the Bolts and Buffalo would be 7-4, Los Angeles would win the tiebreaker due to having a better record in conference games (6-2 to 4-3).
On the other hand, a Texans loss might just knock Houston out of the race altogether, thus giving the Chargers one less team to worry about. The preference is probably for the Texans to take a win here, but that seems unlikely without C.J. Stroud.
Either way, the Bolts benefit.
Pittsburgh Steelers at Chicago Bears
This one might not seem like it matters, but with the Ravens rising and the Steelers fading, the AFC North is wide open. So, Pittsburgh may eventually fall down into the wild-card race. And as they're 6-4, that's a little too close for comfort. In that sense, the Chargers should be rooting for the Bears here.
In another sense, however, the Steelers continuing to win might just keep Baltimore out of the postseason altogether. So, perhaps a Bears win wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.
New England Patriots at Cincinnati Bengals
Seriously, could anyone have possibly predicted that the New England Patriots would be 9-2 at this point?
The Chargers could benefit from a Patriots loss here if the Bolts can find a way to win the AFC West, as inching closer to New England could help with seeding purposes. But it's going to be tough for the Bengals to win this game without the services of Ja'Marr Chase.
Indianapolis Colts at Kansas City Chiefs
There's really nothing to this one. Sure, as mentioned above when discussing the Pats, the Chargers could benefit from a Colts loss for seeding purposes if Los Angeles ends up winning the division, but watching the Chiefs fall to 5-6 and further away from a playoff spot is obviously what Bolts fans are hoping for here.
New York Jets at Baltimore Ravens
A Ravens loss in this one would be helpful, but that's simply not going to happen.
Jacksonville Jaguars at Arizona Cardinals
Given what went down this past Sunday, the Chargers obviously want nothing to do with a head-to-head tiebreaker with the Jaguars down the line. So, they'll certainly be pulling for the Cardinals here.
Now, we just sit back and wait to see how things play out. The Chargers will be back in action in Week 13 with a home date against the Las Vegas Raiders.