The Kansas Town Chiefs rule the AFC West, and we all know the Las Vegas Raiders are the worst staff within the department.
However understanding the second-best staff has been laborious this season. Till Thursday night time.
It is a easy barometer—the Los Angeles Chargers defeated the Denver Broncos each occasions they performed.
They’ll proportion a 9-6 document with two video games to move, however the Chargers personal the head-to-head tiebreaker because of Thursday night time’s 34-27 house win over the Broncos.
The Chargers additionally recorded a 23-16 win in Denver on Oct. 13.
Each groups are overwhelming favorites to assert AFC wild-card spots, and that may be a large deal for Denver, because it will be the franchise’s first playoff berth for the reason that 2015 season. You recognize, when Peyton Manning gained the Tremendous Bowl for the Broncos and Von Miller was once some of the most sensible defensive gamers within the league.
This is like ages in the past.
The Chargers have made the playoffs simply two times previously 10 seasons, and the 2022 season go back and forth would possibly not be forgotten for a very long time because of it being some of the worst postseason collapses within the historical past of the game.
Los Angeles held a 27-0 lead and the Jacksonville Jaguars got here all of the long ago. Jacksonville’s handiest lead got here at the game-ending box objective that gave the Jags a 31-30 victory.
That’s the handiest playoff sport that Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert has performed in and he is now in his 5th season.
Herbert handed for 284 yards and two touchdowns in opposition to one interception on Thursday whilst rather outplaying Denver counterpart Bo Nix (263 yards, two touchdowns) in a fight of former Oregon quarterbacks.
The script was once other Thursday, however the outcome was once the similar.
In Denver, Los Angeles was once in keep an eye on lots of the means and led 23-0 within the fourth quarter prior to the Broncos rallied.
That still was once the competition wherein Chargers trainer Jim Harbaugh had a middle rhythm factor simply previous to kickoff and left early within the first quarter to be handled.
In Thursday’s rematch, Denver was once first of all the more potent staff and jumped out to a 21-10 lead on 3 drives of 70 or extra yards. However Los Angeles made some changes and took keep an eye on and scored 21 consecutive second-half issues to tug away.
The Chargers restricted Nix to at least one move play over 20 yards—a 53-yarder to Marvin Mims Jr.—and made him search for shorter routes as working again Javonte Williams was once centered a mind-boggling 11 occasions.
Broncos trainer Sean Payton did not have any solutions in the second one half of whilst his offense controlled simply two box objectives.
Chargers trainer Jim Harbaugh jumbled in sufficient Gus Edwards runs (68 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries) to stay the Denver protection fair. In the meantime, Herbert continues to mesh with rookie wideout Ladd McConkey, who had six catches (on six goals) for 87 yards.
McConkey is 40 yards clear of a 1,000-yard season and has 13 receptions of 20 or extra yards. Los Angeles has a man it could possibly depend on within the postseason.
Oh yeah, there is not any likelihood of this staff lacking the playoffs even if each ultimate video games are at the highway. They consult with the New England Patriots on Dec. 28 after which consult with the ones terrible Raiders in Week 18.
Once more, no likelihood of going 0-2 in opposition to the ones groups.
Denver had gained 4 immediately video games previous to Thursday’s loss, so there is not any explanation why to panic. The Broncos must lose two extra in a row and feature any other AFC staff win their closing 3.
A staff that might do this—the Cincinnati Bengals—hosts Denver on Dec. 28. If the Bengals beat the Cleveland Browns this weekend after which defeat the Broncos, other folks within the Mile Top Town gets extremely anxious as their Week 18 opponent is the Kansas Town Chiefs.
After all, Carson Wentz may well be the quarterback that day and no longer Patrick Mahomes.
Anyway, each those groups will have to finally end up within the playoffs, however we now have observed which one is best. And that’s the reason the staff that gained each conferences through seven issues.
