The LA Chargers went into their Sunday Night Football matchup against the Miami Dolphins as home underdogs. It looked like a nightmare matchup for the Chargers, who were missing key players on defense against the most explosive offense in the league.
That did not stop the Chargers from turning in the best defensive showing of the season. It was the biggest statement win of the year for the Bolts, who dominated in every area of the game against Miami. And to make things even sweeter, Justin Herbert put a ridiculous debate to bed with his insane play.
At the time of writing this, the Chargers are the seventh seed in the AFC (Patriots can usurp the Chargers with a win on Monday Night Football). While there is plenty of football left to play, the Chargers are now in a great spot to make the playoffs for the first time since 2018.
3 reasons why the Chargers will make the playoffs:
1. The remaining schedule is fairly easy
A lot can happen in these final four weeks and it is impossible to predict every single outcome that is going to impact the playoff picture. That being said, if the Chargers can get to 10 wins this season then it is pretty safe to say that they are going to be a playoff team.
In fact, without factoring in any other outcome, the Chargers have a 95% chance of making the playoffs if they finish with 10 wins (per The New York Times NFL Playoff Simulator). After beating the Dolphins, the Chargers have to finish 3-1 to reach 10 wins.
There obviously is still a lot of work to be done as a 3-1 finish is not the easiest thing in the world. That being said, the final four games are not very difficult and three wins should be doable if the Chargers are playoff caliber.
The Bolts host the Tennessee Titans, are on the road against the Indianapolis Colts, host the LA Rams and are on the road against the Denver Broncos. Heading into Week 14, those teams ranked 16th, 31st, 27th and 25th in DVOA, respectively. Granted, the Chargers rank 26th, but the Bolts still finish the season against four teams that are in the lower half of the league.