The LA Chargers (6-3) have the opportunity of a lifetime over the next two games: a chance to prove to the entire league that they are among the best in the AFC. To prove it, this team cannot let teams hang around like they did in the first half of Sunday’s win against the Tennessee Titans.
This game was a tale of two halves with the team struggling way too often in the first half against a Titans team that is clearly in rebuilding mode. The running game was average at best in the first half with around sixty team yards on the ground and the lone rushing touchdown coming from quarterback Justin Herbert.
The receivers, who we all fear are the team’s Achilles heel, sure looked like it against a Titans defense that the team should have taken apart. Per usual, Jesse Minter’s defense kept this team in the game. And the team had a 13-7 halftime lead.
The reality is that this team is far superior to the Titans and in the second half, they proved it. The running game was much improved as J.K. Dobbins found the end zone. Justin Herbert proved yet again that he is a dual threat with some more explosive runs while also connecting with Quentin Johnston for a touchdown as the team overwhelmed the Titans to finish the game with a 27-17 win.
The team that showed up in the second half of Sunday’s win is the team that must show up over the next two weeks because the opportunity of a lifetime is right around the corner.
The next two weeks could prove that the Chargers are truly elite
The Bolts have back-to-back home games over the next two weeks and both are in prime time. The Cincinnati Bengals are reeling as the bottom is dangerously close to falling out on a team that most believed to be a Super Bowl contender.
With ten days off and after another close loss, the Bengals are desperate to save their season, this could be the perfect trap game. The Bolts cannot play around in the first half like they did on Sunday. To prove that this team is among the best, they must dominate Cincinnati, and they must do it early. The chance to be elite is there.
Then there is the Harbaugh Bowl in two weeks on Monday Night Football. Since the moment that Jim Harbaugh became the head coach of the team, the inevitable Harbaugh versus Harbaugh match had everyone salivating as the Baltimore Ravens were on the schedule for the Bolts this year. The NFL clearly expects a fun and intriguing match-up which is why they have placed it on the league’s flagship night. The Ravens are beatable, but they are a much tougher challenge for the Bolts.
Lamar Jackson is a nightmare matchup for Jesse Minter’s elite defense. He is no longer just a running quarterback; this man has become a complete player who has command of an offense that has dropped more than thirty points in six of its games this year.
Incredibly, the weakest link for the 2024 Ravens is their defense. Baltimore’s total defense is near the bottom of the league against both the run and the pass. There is a real opportunity for the Bolts to run all over Baltimore and hold Lamar Jackson in check like the team did against Patrick Mahomes for most of the game against the Chiefs earlier this year.
The 2024 Ravens are beatable but to do it, Jim Harbaugh’s team must show up for the entire game like they did in the second half of Sunday’s win. The chance to be elite is there.
After the next two weeks, the Chargers go on the road against a beatable Falcons and an opportunity for revenge against the Kansas City Chiefs to beat them at home and that game is also under the lights.
Logic says that the Bolts will drop a game or even two over the next four, but what if they do not? There is a real possibility that the team could be 10-3 heading into the final four games of the year. To make that possibility a reality, the Bolts must show up over the next two games. The chance to be elite is there.
The push to the playoffs for the 2024 Chargers starts right now. Elite standing in the AFC is there for Jim Harbaugh’s crew if they want to take it. At times this season, the team has shown that they are a real threat in the playoffs. Now is the chance to leave no doubt.
Over the next two weeks and with the whole country watching, the Bolts could prove that they truly are contenders in 2024.