The 2020 NFL schedule was released on Thursday evening.
Along the way there will be some matchups that might serve as opportunities for players to seek revenge after some offseason movement.
NFL Media’s Dan Hanzus ranked the top “spicy revenge” games for this upcoming season.
The Chargers are listed for two player-on-team revenge games, with those coming in Week 4 against the Buccaneers and in Week 11 against the Broncos.
The first revenge game comes on Sunday, Oct. 4 as Hanzus believes the Chargers are out to get revenge on quarterback Tom Brady, who chose to sign with the Buccaneers rather than becoming the face of the franchise in Los Angeles earlier this offseason.
The Bolts were runner-ups in the Brady sweepstakes, but they were able to land their quarterback of the future in the draft with former Oregon QB Justin Herbert.
Here is what Hanzus had to say about the future contest between L.A. and the Brady-led Buccaneers:
How’s this for a sliding doors scenario? Tom Brady, determined to stay in the same conference as Bill Belichick and drawn to the comforts of living and working in Southern California, chooses the Chargers over the Bucs in free agency. The NFL looks a lot different, doesn’t it? Their interest in Brady not reciprocated, the Bolts pivoted and invested the 2020 NFL Draft’s No. 6 overall pick in Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert. Are we headed toward a scenario where Brady and Herbert go head-to-head? The Chargers were spurned by the G.O.A.T. in March — they’ll want to punish him for that decision in October.
Seven weeks later, the Chargers travel to the Mile High City to take on the Broncos where they will meet up with running back Melvin Gordon, who signed with Denver on a two-year deal.
Los Angeles refused to pay Gordon last offseason, which ultimately lead to his lengthy holdout that lasted for 64 days. The 27-year old will be eager to perform at a high level in order to make the Bolts feel some regret for not re-signing him.
Talk about your all-time backfires: Melvin Gordon wanted to be paid like one of the best running backs in the league. The Chargers said, “Nah.” Gordon held out … and held out … and held out … for 64 days in total last year, then struggled while attempting to play himself into shape in the middle of the season. Gordon lost millions in 2019 salary and torpedoed his 2020 value in the process. Whoops. The Broncos signed the running back to a two-year deal, and now Gordon will get two opportunities a year to stick it to the team that wouldn’t break the bank for him.