On Wednesday evening, the NFL made the Chargers' 2025 schedule official. With games against the AFC West, NFC East, AFC South, and others, Jim Harbaugh's squad will look to go back to the playoffs for a different outcome after last season's Wild Card loss to Houston.
Without getting into a direct record prediction too early on, let's talk about the three key schedule stretches will determine LA's fate in the 2025 campaign.
3 stretches that will determine the Chargers' season:
Weeks 1-3: Divisional Armageddon
Calling any game in the first quarter of the NFL season "must win" is usually overdoing it. But I'm not sure there's ever been a more important first set of games for the Chargers in terms of setting the tone. In Weeks 1-3, they'll face the Chiefs, Raiders, and Broncos in consecutive weeks.
A 2-1 or 3-0 start in those games could have the Chargers as leaders in the AFC West before they get to the (comparatively) easier stretch on their schedule. But should Los Angeles find themselves under .500 by Week 4, contending for the division crown could very well be DOA. We'll find out how strong the Chargers' case for their first AFC West win in 16 years is very quickly.
Weeks 6-11: Relatively winnable AFC matchups
Dolphins, Colts, Titans, Steelers, Jaguars. Those are the AFC teams that the Chargers will square off against in their mid-season stretch prior to their BYE in Week 12. The Dolphins and Steelers always seem to find themselves in the AFC's Wild Card conversation in particular.
Ideally, the Chargers will want to dethrone the Chiefs this year. But if they can't, their road to the playoffs does go through the Wild Card. From a tiebreaker and separation with their Wild Card competition standpoint, this stretch is critical. Back in 2017, the Chargers were left out of the playoff field in part because of their record against the AFC in a tiebreaker scenario.
Have to take care of business in some of the "easier" AFC games, because then the Chargers have...
Weeks 14-18: Playoff difficulty primer
Eagles, Chiefs, Cowboys, Texans, Broncos. That's four playoff teams and the two Super Bowl finalists from last season. I'd also be hesitant to completely look past Dallas as a team that will have a healthy Dak Prescott back in the fold.
This stretch in particular is also why Weeks 6-11 are important. If the Chargers don't bank enough wins there, the final stretch of the season gets a lot rockier.
How healthy the Chargers are by the end of the year in addition to their record in the first three quarters of the season, will determine the fanbase's confidence entering a fairly challenging stretch of quasi-playoff games.