The LA Chargers won the team's most important game of the season on Thursday against the Denver Broncos. With the win, the Chargers all but confirmed a trip to the 2024 NFL Playoffs barring an extremely unlikely series of events.
The Chargers can officially clinch the playoffs if the Miami Dolphins and Indianapolis Colts fail to win on Sunday. Even if the Chargers don't clinch this weekend, the team is already a big winner of other Week 16 outcomes that have trickled in.
The Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens both won on Sunday, beating the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers, respectively. While Chargers fans traditionally don't like seeing the Chiefs or Ravens win, these two outcomes were good for the Bolts in the big picture.
Chargers were big winners of Chiefs and Ravens wins
Kansas City is one step closer to being the No. 1 seed in the AFC and that could line up nicely for the Chargers. If the Chargers advanced to the AFC Divisional Round as a lower seed then they would almost certainly play the Chiefs.
It is really hard to beat a team three times in one year, especially when that team has played the Chiefs very closely in both games. The Chargers would still be underdogs in the game but there is a better chance of beating the Chiefs in the second round than the Bills.
That is assuming the Chargers can even get to the second round, though. However, Saturday's game showed that the Houston Texans are a very beatable team if the Chargers were to match up against them. Houston's defense is starting to crack and the offense is not as high-powered as expected.
If the Chargers can sneak up into the No. 5 seed then they absolutely could upset the Texans on the road in the AFC Wild Card Round.
Baltimore beating Pittsburgh could help the Chargers move up to the No. 5 seed. The Steelers still control the AFC North with the tiebreaker over the Ravens but there is a world in which they do not win another game this season.
The Steelers play the Chiefs on Christmas and then wrap up the season against a Cincinnati Bengals team that might be playing for a playoff spot. Pittsburgh could absolutely lose both games, finishing with a 10-7 record if so.
Los Angeles, meanwhile, plays the New England Patriots and Las Vegas Raiders. The Chargers should win both of those games and that would take the team to an 11-6 record. That is far more likely than the Chargers usurping the Ravens, who play the Texans and Browns to end the season.
Even if Pittsburgh holds off the Ravens, Saturday's game proved that Mike Tomlin's team may be running out of steam. This is not the same Steelers team that beat up on an injured Chargers team earlier this year.
This is a beatable Steelers team. No Chargers fan should be afraid of a No. 6 vs. No. 3 matchup if the Steelers are on the other side.
Now, if the Chargers can't move up to the No. 5 seed and have to play the Ravens in the AFC Wild-Card Round... well then they are in trouble.