Playoffs? Yes, we are talking about the Chargers’ playoff chances.
Just three weeks ago, you could’ve said that Los Angeles was in the clear running for a playoff spot. But after two crucial losses to divisional opponents, their chances are nearly nonexistent.
L.A. is not mathematically eliminated, which means they could still play in January. According to ESPN’s NFL Football Power Index, the Chargers have a 0.4% chance to reach the postseason.
At the moment, the Bolts are three games behind the 7-4 Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West, and they’re only two games back from the 6-5 Pittsburgh Steelers for the No. 6 seed.
Los Angeles is no stranger to going on runs and shocking the world. It seems impossible, but plenty of crazy things happen in the NFL, and they possess the talent on both sides of the ball to make it happen, especially knowing they get an extra boost with safeties Derwin James and Adrian Phillips.
So, how can they continue playing in the month of January? Using ESPN’s Playoff Machine, we ran through a variety of realistic scenarios by predicting each game that involves AFC teams. In this case, the Bolts get the last Wild Card spot.
Note: This involves the Chargers winning their last five games to make this happen.
Here’s how it looks:
Week 13
Bills at Cowboys
Eagles at Dolphins
Browns at Steelers
Raiders at Chiefs
Chargers at Broncos
Titans at Colts
Patriots at Texans
Buccaneers at Jaguars
Week 14
Bengals at Browns
Dolphins at Jets
Ravens at Bills
Chargers at Jaguars
Chiefs at Patriots
Steelers at Cardinals
Broncos at Texans
Titans at Raiders
Colts at Buccaneers
Week 15
Jets at Ravens
Texans at Titans
Browns at Cardinals
Patriots at Bengals
Jaguars at Raiders
Broncos at Chiefs
Vikings at Chargers
Bills at Steelers
Dolphins at Giants
Colts at Saints
Week 16
Texans at Buccaneers
Saints at Titans
Lions at Broncos
Jaguars at Falcons
Bills at Patriots
Raiders at Chargers
Ravens at Browns
Panthers at Colts
Bengals at Dolphins
Chiefs at Bears
Steelers at Jets
Week 17
Dolphins at Patriots
Colts at Jaguars
Steelers at Ravens
Chargers at Chiefs
Jets at Bills
Browns at Bengals
Raiders at Broncos
Titans at Texans
Here’s how the standings would look:
Los Angeles wins tie break over Oakland based on best win percentage in common games.
Here’s how the playoff matchups would look like:
The bottom line is that the Chargers will not only have to run the table, but there is a slew of things that will have to happen in order to clinch a playoff berth.
It’s unfortunate that Los Angeles is in this position after being pegged as a potential Super Bowl contender, but injuries, a coaching change and most importantly, in-game mistakes ultimately cost them.
Coming off a much-needed bye, the Chargers should feel refreshed, physically and mentally and ready to overcome their disappointing losses this season. Their uphill climb all starts this weekend against the Denver Broncos.
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