With the Denver Broncos surviving a scare from the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas night to improve to 13-3 with a 20-13 victory, the Los Angeles Chargers now face a must-win situation on Saturday afternoon against the Houston Texans, as a loss would officially knock them out of the AFC West race.
With a win, of course, the Bolts would move to 12-4, and their Week 18 matchup with the Broncos in Denver would become a winner-take-all affair for the division crown. While both clubs would finish the regular season at 13-4, the Chargers would win the tiebreaker, as they would have completed the season sweep after taking the first meeting at SoFi back in Week 3 by a score of 23-20.
But Los Angeles certainly can't be worrying about Denver just yet, as the Bolts are set to face a Texans team that boasts the top-ranked defense in the NFL and has won seven straight coming into Saturday's matchup.
Now, what's interesting is that not only would the Chargers be helping themselves with a win, but they'd also be helping none other than Philip Rivers and the Indianapolis Colts. And to add even more intrigue to the mix, Rivers can also help the Bolts if he can lead his Colts to a victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Chargers can keep the Colts in playoff contention, and the Colts can help the Chargers in the race for the No. 1 seed in the AFC
So, here's the situation.
With Indianapolis sitting at 8-7 and Houston sitting at 10-5, the only way the Colts can make the playoffs is by winning their final two games and the Texans losing their final two. First up, of course, they need the Chargers' help with Houston on Saturday and then need to take care of their own business on Sunday at home against the Jags.
In Week 18, Rivers & Co. won't have to rely on any help, as the Colts will actually be facing the Texans in Houston. And if Indy wins that regular-season finale and both teams finish 10-7, the Colts would win the tiebreaker based on strength of victory in all games.
Bringing the Chargers back in, not only are the Bolts still in contention to win the AFC West, but they're also still alive in the race for the No. 1 seed. But even if the Chargers win out, they still need both the New England Patriots and the Jaguars to lose at least one of their final two games. So, that's how Rivers can help the team that employed him for 16 years.