The work is not finished.
Despite not being able to finish worse than the sixth seed in the NFL playoffs, the Chargers want to end up with the highest wild card spot.
On Monday, head coach Brandon Staley assured that he will not be resting his starters in the season finale against the Broncos.
“Our approach is definitely going to get a shot to win this ballgame and play as well as we can play heading into the playoffs,” Staley said. “I think that there’s certainly an advantage to be in the No. 5 seed, from where I stand, so we’re going to try to get there.
“Then, the case-by-case nature of the players, I think that that is the approach that we’re going to take, in terms of whether or not to sit them. If there’s something that we feel like that would be a good decision, we’ll take that case by case.”
Being the fifth seed is the most ideal scenario for Los Angeles.
With the No. 5 seed, the Chargers would play the fourth seed, which will be the AFC South winner between the 7-9 Titans and the 8-8 Jaguars.
If they finish as the sixth seed, Los Angeles would have to face the third seed, whether that be the Bills, Chiefs, Bengals, or Ravens, on the road.
Los Angeles won its fourth-straight game after defeating the Rams on Sunday, and with everything starting to coincide in all three phases of the game, there is no reason to take the foot off the gas.
Offensively, the unit is more balanced and efficient. Defensively, they continue to be one of the best units in recent weeks. On special teams, Ryan Ficken has had his group playing at a high level all season.
If all key players stay healthy, the Chargers could make some noise in the playoffs.