The 2022 NFL season is going to be one of the most exciting seasons that the league has had in recent years. One of the biggest offseasons so far, highlighted by Tom Brady coming out of retirement, is bringing a lot of attention and excitement to the upcoming season. With the signings and trades made around the league, there will be an exciting storyline every single week of the season.
Sticking more specifically in Los Angeles, the additions that the LA Chargers have made created a buzz around the fan base. Building what is looking to be a solid defense to play alongside one of the more prolific offenses in the league is something that fans of the Chargers are certainly excited to see.
The LA Chargers have one of the most difficult quarterback schedules this year
Looking at the upcoming season's schedule, there are a lot of impressive quarterbacks that the Chargers have to go up against. Going up against eight Pro Bowl quarterbacks throughout the season is going to be very exciting to watch.
We are going to rank the opposing quarterbacks that the LA Chargers are facing this season, starting with a couple honorable mentions, due to the starting quarterback jobs not being fully set in stone.
14. Drew Lock - Seattle Seahawks
After Russell Wilson got traded to the Denver Broncos, Drew Lock has taken over the starting job as of now. With the ninth pick, the Seahawks could choose to go any route, whether it is to protect Drew Lock, or go after one of the top rookie quarterbacks like Malik Willis.
Drew Lock has had an up and down career, most recently posting just 787 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions in six games last season. Will Pete Carroll decide to go with fourth-year quarterback Drew Lock, or try his luck in the draft with somebody like Malik Willis?
13. Marcus Mariota - Atlanta Falcons
The same situation that the Seahawks are in is very similar to Arthur Smith and the Atlanta Falcons. However, the Falcons have the eighth pick, right before Seattle. On top of that, Mariota has not played a full season since 2018, so if the Falcons do not choose to go the quarterback route in the draft, they may be able to take the first quarterback available.
No matter which route they go, due to not playing a full season in years or an unproven rookie quarterback will put Mariota and the Atlanta Falcons towards the bottom of the quarterback rankings that the Chargers have to face this season.
12. Davis Mills - Houston Texans
A season of uncertainty surrounded the Texans as Davis Mills started his rookie season. In the 13 games Mills played, he accumulated 2,664 passing yards, going along with 16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Given all of the circumstances, Mills had a respectable rookie campaign. The Texans have the third pick in the draft, so they can draft one of the top tackles in the draft to protect their quarterback.
Posting good performances against some talented teams like Seattle, Tennessee, and the Chargers shows that he has the potential to be a consistent starting quarterback in this league. Due to him not fully proving that yet, however showing some promise, this will put him at number 10 on this list.
11. Trey Lance - San Francisco 49ers
One of the more interesting stories going around the NFL is the Trey Lance vs Jimmy Garoppolo for the starting quarterback job of the 49ers. After drafting Trey Lance with the fifth pick in the 2021 draft, we can assume that they want Lance to be the future. Especially after Garoppolo needing to get surgery on his throwing shoulder, going with Lance seems to be their plan.
Playing in six games during his rookie season (going 3-3 in that span), Lance tallied 603 passing yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions. He also was able to get 168 rushing yards going along with one touchdown. Trey Lance's dual-threat ability is something that could send him to the next level if he can continue to develop. With that being said, still being very young going into his second year puts him at number nine on our list.
10. Trevor Lawrence - Jacksonville Jaguars
One of the highest graded prospects coming out of college and into the NFL, Trevor Lawrence had a lot of expectations when coming into the league. A lot of people criticized his rookie year, due to his 3-14 record, as well as throwing more interceptions than touchdowns, however, there is a lot of room for him to improve.
Considering the coaching staff situation last season, on top of the roster that Lawrence was with, his rookie season was not that bad. The experience of playing the full season will help him to improve and develop very quickly. Jacksonville has now added Christian Kirk and Evan Engram, which will give Lawrence a big boost in his development.
9. Tua Tagovailoa - Miami Dolphins
The quarterback that the Miami Dolphins took ahead of Justin Herbert hardly cracks the top 10 in a list of 14 quarterbacks. With better weapons and a franchise tackle being added to the mix, there are no more excuses for Tua.
8. Matt Ryan, Indianapolis Colts
Matt Ryan went from one South division to another as he now finds himself in a loaded AFC where it is going to be much more difficult to make a playoff run. However, the flip side is that his offensive line is significantly better, so he won't face as much pressure.
7. Ryan Tannehill - Tennessee Titans
The first proven consistent quarterback appears on the list. Not only that, but the first Pro Bowler, Ryan Tannehill led the Tennessee Titans to the number one overall seed in the AFC last season. Having a 3:2 touchdown to interception ratio, as well as rushing for seven touchdowns has helped boost this Derrick Henry-led offense.
A very impressive thrower of the ball could make some good plays against the Chargers this season, especially with star receiver AJ Brown at the end of most of those passes. Tannehill, since leaving Miami three years ago, has shown considerable improvement. His capability to lead a team and make the playoffs is what puts him towards the middle of the pack of quarterbacks that are facing Justin Herbert and the Chargers this season.
6. Derek Carr - Las Vegas Raiders
A player who is very familiar with the Chargers, Derek Carr is also one of the more talented quarterbacks in the league. Since 2018, Carr has thrown for over 4,000 yards, on top of having over a 93 quarterback rating in all four years. His play against the Chargers has been impressive, as he has gone 8-8 against LA since Carr came into the league in 2014.
The Chargers and Raiders rivalry is one of the fiercest in the league. Derek Carr versus Justin Herbert, just like other matchups in the division, is going to be one of the biggest storylines in the two weeks they play each other this season. Carr's incredible playmaking abilities, combined with an incredible core of Davante Adams, Hunter Renfrow, and Darren Waller put him very high on this list, landing him at number six.
5. Deshaun Watson - Cleveland Browns
Deshaun Watson may not have played since 2020, however, he was putting up MVP numbers as he was playing. Marking almost 5,000 passing yards with 33 touchdowns and just seven interceptions will make people very excited to see him play this year. Seeing Watson throw to Pro Bowler Amari Cooper this year will be very exciting to watch, assuming he keeps his MVP caliber play up that he showed in Houston.
Cleveland played the Chargers very close this past season, with the Chargers winning 47-42 in one of the best games of the year. Replacing Baker Mayfield with Watson is going to be very interesting to watch how this Browns offense transforms. The impact that Deshaun Watson makes on the football field with his running ability, as well as his terrific arm, will pose problems for any teams the Browns face this season, putting him just in the top five of quarterbacks the Chargers are playing this year.
4. Kyler Murray - Arizona Cardinals
One of the youngest and most explosive running quarterbacks this league has, Kyler Murray has the ability to break out of getting sacked and scramble puts him ahead of most other quarterbacks on this list.
Kyler Murray scramble TD ?
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 13, 2020
He puts Cards up on the 49ers in the 4Q
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/Hm3wLsaCgs
Not just running when he scrambles, he is also able to throw the ball with incredible accuracy when scrambling out of the pocket, as he had the best Pro Football Focus grade while scrambling with a grade of 91.3.
Even though Kyler lost Christian Kirk to Jacksonville and Chase Edmonds to Miami, he still has one of the best wide receivers in the game in DeAndre Hopkins. An incredibly exciting matchup between Hopkins and J.C. Jackson will be fun to watch, and with Kyler throwing him the ball, that makes this matchup even more exciting.
Murray has the talent to put up an MVP performance on any given week. That feature alone will put him in the top five of almost everybody's lists, and with his game still improving, he slides in at number four in the best quarterbacks the Chargers have to face this year.
3. Russell Wilson - Denver Broncos
The newest AFC West quarterback, Russell Wilson has been one of the top players in the NFL for years. The nine-time Pro Bowler and one-time Super Bowl champion with the Seahawks now finds himself in the most competitive division, facing Herbert, Mahomes, and Carr for six of his games this year. Even with Wilson sitting out for a few games this season, he still had an impressive year, throwing for 25 touchdowns and just six interceptions.
Russell Wilson is the piece that the Broncos needed on offense to get back to their Super Bowl contending years as they had in 2015 with Peyton Manning. The battle between Herbert and Wilson is going to be a fun storyline for years to come. Wilson's ability to create something out of nothing at any given point in the game will make him a dangerous quarterback in this schedule, putting him at third on the list.
2. Matthew Stafford - Los Angeles Rams
After years in Detroit and years of zero playoff wins, he gets traded to the Rams and instantly wins a Super Bowl. Matthew Stafford is responsible for the two best wide receiver seasons in history, when it comes to receiving yards. He did it with Calvin Johnson in 2012 and this past season with Cooper Kupp.
Stafford finished third in the league in passing yards with 4,886 yards, and second in the league with 41 passing touchdowns. Going into his second year in McVay's offense, we could see improvements and potentially another MVP caliber season from the Rams quarterback. The battle for Los Angeles is going to be an exciting game this year, with the veteran and recent Super Bowl champion Matthew Stafford going up against third-year Pro Bowler Justin Herbert.
1. Patrick Mahomes II - Kansas City Chiefs
Patrick Mahomes, one of the early favorites to win the MVP for a second time, tops this list once again. Yes, he did just lose his favorite deep target in Tyreek Hill. The Chiefs replaced Hill with JuJu Smith-Schuster and speedster Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Scantling actually had a faster top speed than Tyreek Hill this past season with a top speed of 22.09 miles per hour compares to Hill's 21.42 miles per hour. Due to this, Mahomes still has his deep threat options this season.
The past two years have had incredible matchups between Justin Herbert and Patrick Mahomes. Two of the three games going into overtime, and all three of them coming down to the last play. Patrick Mahomes' explosive play potential and innate ability to come back from any deficit makes him one of the scariest quarterbacks in the league. That combination and then having one of the best coaches in Andy Reid make Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs the most difficult challenge this season.
This caps off our rankings of the quarterbacks the Chargers have to play this season. Playing eight Pro Bowlers, and a lot of young and talented quarterbacks could make this one of the more difficult schedules in the league this year.
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The 2022 season has the potential to be one for the record books, and as sports fans, we are all excited to see what transpires.