After 16 weeks, the Los Angeles Chargers have one of the best records in the NFL at 11-4. The team has won seven of its last eight games, has a win over the 12-3 Denver Broncos, and with two weeks remaining in the regular season, the Chargers have a chance to enter the playoffs as a top seed.
Despite all of that, the team hasn’t received much recognition and isn’t being viewed as a serious contender. Why is that?
NFL.com columnist Jeffri Chadiha explained why in a recent piece while deciding whether to buy or sell on teams in the playoff hunt. Chadiha sold on the idea of Los Angeles being a serious contender, and the reason why is health. The writer praised the Chargers for overcoming several injuries throughout he regular season, but argued the team won’t be able to do the same in the postseason.
"This has been one of the most resilient teams in the league. Injuries have crippled the offensive line for months, but the Chargers are now 11-4… Now comes the bad news: This team is too beaten up to believe a deep postseason run awaits it. There are too many good defenses that will appear in the AFC playoffs."Jeffri Chadiha (NFL.com)
Analyst says Chargers won’t be able to overcome injuries in the playoffs
As Chadiha pointed out, the bulk of Los Angeles’ injuries are on the offensive line, with both Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt sidelined.
While the Chargers have won in spite of their absences, Chadiha argued it won’t be possible in the playoffs when the heat turns up. Not only are games harder to win in the postseason, but it’s all the best teams playing. In the AFC, that means teams like the Houston Texans and Broncos, who Chadiha argues “have the type of dynamic edge rushers who could make life hell for [Justin] Herbert.”
That may be true, but there’s only one way to find out: line up and play the games. Truthfully speaking, many people thought Los Angeles’ season was over once Alt went down. In the team’s first games without their two star tackles, the Chargers struggled.
However, they’ve since been able to figure things out and win a lot of games. The team certainly believes it can do the same in the postseason. It’ll be on the other AFC contenders to prove whether that’s the case or not.