{"id":52060,"date":"2018-10-26T19:30:40","date_gmt":"2018-10-26T23:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonnfl.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=52060"},"modified":"2018-10-26T19:30:40","modified_gmt":"2018-10-26T23:30:40","slug":"los-angeles-chargers-are-playoff-contenders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2018\/10\/26\/los-angeles-chargers-are-playoff-contenders\/","title":{"rendered":"Los Angeles Chargers Are Playoff Contenders Heading Into Bye Week"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following their most recent win over the Tennessee Titans<\/a> 20-19 on Sunday, the Los Angeles Chargers<\/a> are now 5-2 as they head into their bye week. And for them, life is pretty good\u00a0at the moment. Sure, there aren\u2019t many Chargers fans showing up to the\u00a0home\u00a0games. But their only two losses have come to teams with a combined record of 13-1 (Los Angeles Rams<\/a> and Kansas City Chiefs<\/a>). And they\u2019re getting star defensive end Joey Bosa<\/a> <\/strong>back soon, possibly after the bye week.\u00a0And that 5-2 record is no joke either.\u00a0The only true concern is the kicker position, but Michael Badgley<\/strong> has been quite solid so far through two starts.\u00a0The Chargers do indeed look to be headed towards a playoff berth. Let\u2019s look at some of what\u2019s helping this team look this good.<\/p>\n

Los\u00a0Angeles Chargers Look Like Playoff Contenders as Bye Week Approaches<\/h1>\n

Philip Rivers: MVP Candidate?<\/h2>\n

This isn\u2019t the first year that quarterback Philip Rivers<\/a><\/strong> has been considered a low-end Most Valuable Player (MVP) candidate. Still, through seven games, he is playing a lot better than most quarterbacks this year. He currently has 17 touchdowns and just three interceptions. Currently, he has the third most touchdown passes in the league, behind Patrick Mahomes<\/a><\/strong> and Andrew Luck<\/strong><\/a>. He also has the second highest quarterback rating in the league (117.8), behind only Drew Brees<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, Rivers\u00a0is\u00a0currently\u00a0on pace for almost 39 touchdowns and seven interceptions. If he kept his performance up and finished anywhere close to those kinds of numbers, it would unquestionably be the best season of his career and would certainly put him in higher MVP consideration than in previous seasons.<\/p>\n

Deadly Duo at Running Back<\/h2>\n

The Chargers\u2019 most recent game against the Titans was really the first time the running game\u00a0actually struggled\u00a0that much. But that was because their main running back, Melvin Gordon<\/strong><\/a>, was out with a hamstring injury. Still, between Gordon and Austin\u00a0Ekeler<\/strong>, they\u2019ve built a deadly rushing\u00a0attack. The overall team is currently sixth in the league in rushing yards, and they\u2019re only a couple weeks removed from a game with almost 250 rushing yards.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s made this duo even better is the fact that they are both threats in the passing game. That was part of\u00a0Ekeler\u2019s\u00a0appeal all along, but Gordon has gotten a lot better in the receiving game. When you\u00a0have not one, but two running\u00a0backs you can dump it off to, that only makes the offense better and helps open things up for everyone else.<\/p>\n

The First-Round Rookie Safety<\/h2>\n

Normally, I would probably address the deadly pass-rusher duo of Bosa and Melvin Ingram<\/strong><\/a> here when discussing standouts on defense. But Bosa has been out all year and while Ingram\u2019s been doing better lately, the pass-rush is still just not quite the same. This has\u00a0had an effect on\u00a0the overall defense as well<\/a>, although they have been improving the last few games.<\/p>\n

Some parts of the secondary haven\u2019t held up as well as others. But first-round pick Derwin James<\/a><\/strong> has been all over the place this year. He was drafted as a safety and has pulled down a lone interception. But he\u2019s been all over the field in general, even getting three and a half sacks so far. Furthermore, he also has 44 tackles \u2013 the second most on the entire team. Not bad for a rookie.<\/p>\n

AFC Contenders?<\/h2>\n

It certainly seems at this point like the Chargers are playoff bound, especially with the impending return of Bosa, which should only make the team better. Now the question remains if there is the possibility of a Super Bowl berth. It\u2019s hard to say yet if they can stack up with the yearly contenders\u2014the New England Patriots<\/a> and the Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a>. (That question might be better answered when Bosa returns.) There is also the matter of the 6-1 division rival Chiefs. While they have the best record in the AFC and Mahomes is playing out of his mind, it\u2019s hard to forget that they only have one playoff win in almost 25 years.<\/p>\n

However, beyond those three there actually isn\u2019t a whole lot of competition. Aside from maybe the Baltimore Ravens<\/a>, no one else seems equipped to get past the first round. If the Chargers remain one of the top four AFC teams, it\u2019s possible we\u2019ll at least see them in the AFC Championship. Whether they win that or not, who knows. But after five years out of the playoffs, they are in good position to make a run now.<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>