Five bold predictions for the AFC West in 2019
By Byron Smith
3. The Chargers are a bust
The Chargers are starting 3-3, so even with a miraculous 10-0 run, the likes of which only the Chiefs have pulled off, that is a 13-3 record and does not guarantee the division. But even that is nearly impossible, as a 10-game winning streak would have the Chargers winning games over the Bears in Chicago, two over the Chiefs, two over the Raiders, another over the Broncos, and a one over Packers.
On top of having a difficult second half of the season, the Chargers have some serious concerns to deal with. Rivers is aging and defenses in the league are only getting faster and smarter, something we saw him struggle with in the playoffs last year.
This is all under the assumption that Gordon’s deal gets done. A season without Gordon is much grimmer for the Chargers.
On top of every other bit of drama in L.A., they also have defensive issues, with issues in the secondary. Casey Heyward may be a decent corner as is Desmond King, but that’s where the decent players stop and the mediocre begins on the depth chart. In a division where you play Mahomes and company twice along with having to cover Antonio Brown twice as well, this is less than ideal.
The Chargers are also dealing with numerous injury concerns. Young safety Derwin James is out for 3-4 months. Russell Okung is dealing with a serious illness of the blood. Keenan Allen is out for the rest of the preseason and is not guaranteed back for week 1 yet.
The Chargers would be optimistic to hope for a 10-6 record this season, but 8-8 or 7-9 is more likely. Which is definitely not winning the division. Thankfully other teams in the division have their own problems to deal with.