Welcome back to another edition of Around the AFC West. This week has been a rough one in Chiefs Kingdom and we will get to that shortly, but before we do, let’s take a look at how the other members of the AFC West did in Week 13 and preview Week 14.
Los Angeles Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers traveled to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers in a Sunday night primetime showdown with major playoff implications. The Chargers walked away victorious in a 33-30 win that came down to the wire. The Chargers seemed to be facing a blowout for most of the game as they came out of halftime trailing 23-7. However, the Chargers could not be stopped. The Chargers put up 26 points in the second half to Pittsburgh’s 7 and ended the game on a wild last-second field goal (there were three attempts).
Steelers fans have every reason to be upset with this game because on one of Philip Rivers’ touchdown passes, the right tackle had a blatant false start go uncalled. Officiating aside, a great team overcomes that. The Steelers were not that team. The NFL has recognized the error, but it makes no difference. The Chargers kept pace with the Chiefs in the AFC West and continue their domination of the first wild-card spot in the AFC playoff picture.
It is important to remember that the Chargers beat the Steelers on the road without the assistance of star running back, Melvin Gordon, who is currently out with an MCL sprain. His timeline is still to be determined, but the Chargers did fine without him. The team ended with 85 rushing yards to the Steelers’ 65. At the end of the day, it was Philip Rivers who put the team on his back and pulled them to victory ending the day 26 of 36 for 299 yards and 2 touchdowns.
The Chargers are now 9-3, but they still have a difficult schedule with tough games against the Chiefs at Arrowhead and the Broncos at Mile High. It seems more and more likely that the Thursday night match-up between the Chargers and Chiefs will be the determining factor in the AFC West winner.
The Chargers had no notable injuries but did announce that they were waiving lineman Joe Barksdale and signing wide receiver Dylan Cantrell on Monday. Next week, the Chargers host the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals have been struggling all year and the Chargers cannot afford to lose any games if they hope to have any shot at winning the AFC West. I anticipate the Chargers win this game. Game time is 3:05 p.m.