Can The Los Angeles Chargers Win The AFC West?

The Los Angeles Chargers seem to be in position to be a threat in the AFC this season as they are currently sitting in second place in the AFC West with a 6-5 record and are a game behind the Kansas City Chiefs for the top spot in the division and an automatic home playoff game. There is a lot to like about this Chargers team so today we are going to dive into if Los Angeles has a realistic chance to win the division with a handful of games remaining. 

If you are confident in betting on some NFL lines, the odds that the Chargers win the AFC West is currently sitting at +400 so go place that bet and get a good payout if it happens. 

What’s The Remaining Schedule Like?

This is going to really be the difference-maker for the Chargers’ chances as Los Angeles has a road game against the Cincinnati Bengals, home against the New York Giants, home against the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night, on the road against the Houston Texans, home for the Denver Broncos, and finish off with a road game against the Las Vegas Raiders. The Chargers have three divisional games remaining and are 2-1 so far while the Chiefs are 1-1 in their two divisional matchups. 

The key matchup is going to be the Thursday night showdown against the Kansas City Chiefs as the Los Angeles Chargers already won in Arrowhead early in the regular season so winning that game means they will guarantee the tiebreaker. Realistically, the Chargers can go 4-2 but needing to win the Chiefs game or 5-1 if they want to win the division. 

Justin Herbert

Justin Herbert has been performing at a solid level this season as he is leading the NFL with a 65.9 QBR and has a 66 completion percentage for 3,230 yards with 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He has been having an interception issue as of late as six of his 10 interceptions have come within the previous five games. He needs to be more careful with the football and having some solid weapons like wide receivers Keenan Allen and Mike Williams will only help him progress as he chases his first playoff berth in his young career.

Defense

The defense needs some improvements in the last handful of regular season games if the Chargers want to win the division or even hold onto a playoff spot entirely. As of this writing, Los Angeles is allowing 26.6 points per game this season and the only teams giving up more points are the New York Jets, Atlanta Falcons, and the Las Vegas Raiders. Playoff teams cannot have that glaring of a weakness if they want to win the division. They aren’t forcing enough turnovers to be competitive either as they have 12 turnovers (seven interceptions, five forced fumbles) and they need to force more in order to win games in December and January. 

Conclusion

The Los Angeles Chargers are a playoff team, but I do not see this team winning the division due to some divisional games causing me some concerns. The Chiefs seem to be clicking as the season continues and should return to form. I do not envision Kansas City losing the head-to-head matchup and that will be the nail in the coffin. If the Chargers are able to win that game though, they have a slight edge due to the fact they have four divisional games as well as a road game against the Cincinnati Bengals and a home game against the experienced Pittsburgh Steelers and they can easily lose two games in that stretch. All in all, I’d make the future bet at +400 because that is solid odds with the tie-breaker aiming in their direction thus far.

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