Predicting the Chargers' final nine games after clawing back to .500

Week 15 at Las Vegas Raiders: Chargers win

By the time Week 15 rolls around the Antonio Pierce magic will wear off and Aidan O'Connell will start playing like Aidan O'Connell again. The Chargers made easy work of O'Connell in the first matchup this season and chances are the team will do it again.

By this point, assuming there are no other significant injuries, the Chargers will definitely have Joshua Palmer back in the fold and back up to speed. This should help in a game where Justin Herbert will naturally get pressured a ton by Maxx Crosby off the right side of the offensive line.

But at the end of the day, the Chargers will have more to play for and will win the game to move to 8-6 on the season. This was the same record that the Chargers had after Week 15 of the 2022 season.

Week 16 vs Buffalo Bills: Chargers loss

Unfortunately, the Chargers do not have as easy of a schedule to end the season as the team did last season. Instead of getting to play Nick Foles and the Indianapolis Colts in Week 16, the Chargers will host Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills.

The Bills are not the world beaters that everyone expected them to be before the season. The offensive talent around Josh Allen is not the best and the defense has dealt an abundance of injuries that have hampered the team.

This will be an entertaining game, and the Chargers certainly will have a chance to win it, but we cannot pick them to beat a bonafide top-10 team in the league until they show up and ultimately do it. Perhaps this is the game, but right now, it seems unlikely.