Chargers could gain serious confidence with win over Chiefs

The Chargers could feel quite good about their future if they put away the Chiefs in Week 17.

Don’t look now but the L.A. Chargers are red hot. Of course, it comes at the wrong time, when the team was already making plans for personal vacations in early January, but it’s still gotta be nice for Bolts fans to see the team looking good these days. In fact, the Chargers are heading into their offseason with more confidence and momentum than they’ve had in quite some time.

As the Chargers visit the Chiefs in Week 17, they’ll do so with a current win streak of three games and four wins in their last six games. They’ve put away the Las Vegas Raiders and Denver Broncos in consecutive weeks and they could potentially close the season by routing every single one of their AFC West rivals with another victory on Sunday.

Say what you will about the Chiefs resting their starters and having nothing to play for, but for the Chargers, that’s a high note for the ending of such a miserable season.

Not only have the Chargers begun to win football games, but they’re looking good while they do it. Justin Herbert is clearly the franchise quarterback they hoped he would be when they drafted him last spring. He gives the team an excellent leader moving forward for the next decade, someone who could potentially take them to the next level—if the team builds around him well.

Speaking of leadership, while some wonder if head coach Anthony Lynn has actually saved his job with this current win streak, the reality is that the seat has been hot for far too long at this point and it would be shocking if the Chargers didn’t let him go at season’s end. That means the franchise gets to wipe the slate clean on so many horrible losses pinned on questionable decisions made by the coaching staff.

The good news is that the Chargers have plenty of talent on hand moving forward, even after they have to make tough decisions on vets like Mike Pouncey, Hunter Henry and Melvin Ingram. Herbert’s rookie deal will give this team plenty of financial flexibility, and another draft class with free agents mixed in should keep this roster quite talented on both sides of the ball. Herbert will go into another season with Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Austin Ekeler, Josh Kelley, and Jalen Guyton, while the defense retains Joey Bosa, Jerry Tillery, Kenneth Murray, Casey Heyward, Chris Harris, and Derwin James.

In short, the Chiefs have very little to play for in Week 17 but don’t dismiss the sort of momentum and confidence that Los Angeles can build if they walk away with a win on Sunday. That can go a long way for a franchise trying its best to turn the corner.