While the Los Angeles Chargers were unable to gain any ground in the NFC West in Week 15, as the Denver Broncos upped their NFL-best record to 12-2 with a win over the Green Bay Packers, upping their own winning streak to three with a victory over the Kansas City Chiefs was still a big deal, as it got the Bolts to 10-4 and also ensured that a new team will represent the AFC in the Super Bowl for the first time since 2021, as the Chiefs were officially eliminated from playoff contention.
In getting to 10-4, the Chargers maintained their position as the top wild-card team in the conference and also kept them within two games of the Broncos, who they already beat in Week 3 and will see again for the regular-season finale in Week 18. Here's a quick look at how the AFC playoff picture breaks down heading into Week 16.
- Denver Broncos (12-2, 1st AFC West)
- New England Patriots (11-3, 1st AFC East)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (10-4, 1st AFC South)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (8-6, 1st AFC North)
- Los Angeles Chargers (10-4, 2nd AFC West)
- Buffalo Bills (10-4, 2nd AFC East)
- Houston Texans (9-5, 2nd AFC South)
- Indianapolis Colts (8-6, 3rd AFC South)
- Baltimore Ravens (7-7, 2nd AFC North)
The Chargers, of course, will spend Sunday afternoon in Texas battling the Dallas Cowboys, who have one of the best offenses in the entire NFL but also have a dreadful defense that has surrendered the fourth-most total yards (374.9) and the second-most points (30.0) per game this season. So, this is certainly a winnable game. Truth be told, Dallas let J.J. McCarthy look like Joe Montana last week in a loss to the Minnesota Vikings, so Justin Herbert could certainly have a field day against Matt Eberflus' unit.
Beyond taking care of their own business, though, which could include clinching a playoff spot with a win and a loss from either the Houston Texans or the Indianapolis Colts, they'll be keeping an eye on several other games on the Week 16 slate, obviously including those with the two teams just mentioned.
But the help they're looking for may be hard to come by, as they'll need several upsets to occur.
Buffalo Bills at Cleveland Browns
As you saw above, the Chargers currently own the same 10-4 record as the Buffalo Bills but hold the No. 5 seed due to having a better record within the conference. So, they'll obviously be hoping for the Cleveland Browns to somehow pull off an upset in this one.
Jacksonville Jaguars at Denver Broncos
For the Bolts to have any shot of their Week 18 matchup to be a winner-take-all affair for the division (and perhaps the No. 1 seed), they, of course, need the Broncos to lose before then. So, if that happens to be this week to the Jacksonville Jaguars, so be it. Otherwise, they'll be depending on Gardner Minshew on Christmas Day when Denver takes on the Chiefs, so this is obviously the better option.
Las Vegas Raiders at Houston Texans
The Chargers will host the red-hot Houston Texans, who've won six in a row, next Saturday at SoFi Stadium, so continuing to stay ahead of the team that embarrassed them in the playoffs last season would be beneficial for several different reason, the most obvious being the clinching scenario mentioned above.
So, they'll be hoping for a Houston loss. The problem, of course, is that they need the Las Vegas Raiders to get their first win since October 12, which doesn't seem likely.
New England Patriots at Baltimore Ravens
This one isn't so much about the Baltimore Ravens, who are still battling with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the AFC North. Whichever team wins that division is going to be the No. 4 seed, which is important because there's a strong chance that's who the Chargers will match up with in the Wild Card Round if they don't win the AFC West. But as far as getting to the postseason is concerned or fighting for seeding, neither the Ravens nor the Steelers really matter, which is why we didn't include Pittsburgh's matchup with the Detroit Lions.
The New England Patriots, on the other hand, aren't a lock to win the AFC just yet after the Bills took them down last week. So, the Bolts may end up fighting the Pats for seeding somewhere. As such, a New England loss wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.
San Francisco 49ers at Indianapolis Colts
And finally, we come to Philip Rivers and the Indianapolis Colts. It's a great story, and seeing Rivers play at least somewhat well last week was a thrill for Chargers fans everywhere, even if it was in a loss. And Bolts fans will have to hope for another one on Monday night.
As mentioned, a Los Angeles win and an Indianapolis loss gets the Chargers into the postseason. And again, they can't really rely on the Raiders to help out.