Chargers emerging, NFL power rankings, Pats-Chiefs reaction and more
The Kansas City Chiefs are getting all the hype and are deservedly AFC West favorites, but the Los Angeles Chargers are slowly emerging as contenders.
The Los Angeles Chargers have to feel awkward in such unfamiliar territory. Los Angeles, which routinely gets hyped up in the preseason only to disappoint with nonsense undoing the team in late-game situations, is avoiding the annual pitfalls.
After smoking the overwhelmed and outmatched Cleveland Browns, 38-14, Los Angeles is 4-2 and looking every bit a contender in the AFC. Funny thing, though… nobody seems to notice.
The Chargers were the popular pick to win the AFC West back in August,but that was before Patrick Mahomes became a demigod in Kansas City. Mahomes turned Los Angeles into his first victim of the season, and once the Chargers lost to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 3, there wasn’t much air time to discuss a 1-2 team.
Now, off three consecutive wins, perhaps it’s the right juncture to make some. Philip Rivers has looked excellent but for once, it’s not all about Rivers. The Chargers have a balanced attack that features a pair of dangerous running backs in Austin Ekeler and Melvin Gordon, a much-improved offensive line and a dynamic receiving core in Keenan Allen, Tyrell Williams and Mike Williams.
Defensively, the Chargers are one of the best groups in football. Los Angeles hasn’t seen a single snap out of Joey Bosa due to a foot injury, but that hasn’t slowed down a unit led by rookie wunderkind Derwin James, pass-rush specialist Melvin Ingram and a quality trio of corners in Desmond King, Casey Hayward and Trevor Williams.
All of it adds up to a 4-2 mark and a team very much capable of not only making the playoffs but doing real damage while there.
Los Angeles’ biggest problem currently resides in the division, with the Chiefs being both very good and in quality position. Kansas City beat the Chargers in their aforementioned Week 1 affair, putting the tiebreaker in their hands unless Los Angeles can beat the Chiefs in Week 15 on Thursday night in Arrowhead Stadium. Suffice it to say, it won’t be an easy task, beating Kansas City in the frigid cold on a short week.
Still, the Chiefs are only one game ahead of the Chargers after their wild loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday night, keeping hope alive that Los Angeles could be more than a wild card team in the AFC race.
For all the talk that centers around New England and Kansas City, it might the Chargers who become the toughest out once we get to January. Of course, there’s a long road that leads to that snowy conclusion, but Los Angeles has the roster to be a problem for any team it faces, particularly one-sided squads with little answer for their flaws.
It’s only October, and the Chargers have a large collection of skeletons in their closet, but they bear watching as they climb the ranks in the wide-open AFC.
Power rankings
Top 10 players who should be traded before deadline
1. Patrick Peterson, Arizona Cardinals
2. LeSean McCoy, Buffalo Bills
3. Joe Staley, San Francisco 49ers
4. Amari Cooper, Oakland Raiders
5. Deone Bucannon, Arizona Cardinals
6. Tyrod Taylor, Cleveland Browns
7. Shane Ray, Denver Broncos
8. Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix, Green Bay Packers
9. Charles Clay, Buffalo Bills
10. Noah Spence, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Quotable
"“I’m not going to get real deep right now talking about that. We know what we have to do here. I think I said yesterday or two days ago, we know we have a ways to go here. And today was a tough one.”"
– Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden on whether this season is a rebuild
After being walloped 27-3 by the Seattle Seahawks in London, the Raiders are most certainly looking a full-scale rebuild. Frankly, it’s something that was clearly signaled by Gruden when he traded Khalil Mack this summer. Now, on the verge of moving to Las Vegas, the Raiders are both and and boring, a horrible combination for any team, let alone one readying to relocate.
Podcast
Listen to a new episode of Stacking The Box each Monday with Josh Hill and Matt Verderame! The pair goes deep into every game from the previous week, and you can get it straight to your devices by subscribing on iTunes. Plus, Hill and Verderame are back on Tuesday afternoon at 12:30 p.m. ET with Mark Carman and Ashley Young on FanSided’s Facebook Live page, talking everything NFL.
Random stat
Matthew Stafford is 30 years old, has thrown for 36,134 yards and just a single Pro Bowl to his name with zero playoff wins or division titles.
Info learned this week
1. Patriots, Brady best Chiefs, Mahomes in primetime thriller
Eighty-three points, one punt, and one hell of a game. The Patriots took a sizeable lead, watched Patrick Mahomes erase it all, and then watched Tom Brady come back in the end for a wild 43-40 win.
New England and Kansas City was billed as the Game of the Year, and it lived up to the hype. Mahomes ended up with 352 passing yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions, while Brady ended the night compiling 340 yards with a touchdown and lost fumble. All told, the two quarterbacks put on a Sunday spectacular, with the 41-year-old getting the ball last and driving the Patriots down the field for a game-winning 28-yard field goal from Stephen Gostkowski.
So what does it all mean? The Patriots stay atop the AFC East at 4-2 and move to within a game of Kansas City for the conference’s best record with a key tiebreaker in hand. The Chiefs fall to 5-1 but hold all the cards moving forward. Andy Reid’s squad also has a schedule that eases up moving forward, with only one game that will make it the underdog (against the Rams in Mexico City).
All told, there’s a very good chance we see a rematch in January.
2. Steelers earn soul-crushing win over Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals have long been known as a team good enough to make their fans believe, only to crush them in the toughest moment. Such a time presented itself on Sunday afternoon, when the Bengals took a 21-20 lead with just over a minute remaining in front of a raucous home crowd, only to lose in epic fashion.
With 22 seconds left, Ben Roethlisberger guided the Steelers from their own 41-yard-line to the end zone, featuring a 23-yard pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster before hitting Antonio Brown for a 31-yard touchdown.
For Pittsburgh, the win pulls it within a half-game in the AFC North lead and ahead of the Cleveland Browns, who were rocked 38-14 by the Los Angeles Chargers. For Cincinnati, the Bengals left the stadium distraught and disillusioned, and now get a primetime date at Arrowhead Stadium with the Chiefs.
3. Dolphins defeat Bears behind Brock Osweiler
The Miami Dolphins are 4-2, and the Chicago Bears must be wondering what the heck just happened. Miami was forced to start Brock Osweiler after Ryan Tannehill was declared out with a shoulder injury, leaving the backup to face the ferocious Bears’ front.
Instead of the expected outcome, Osweiler put together one of the best performances of his disappointing career, throwing for 380 yards with three touchdowns in a 31-28 overtime win. After trailing 7-0 in the first half, it appeared Chicago had righted the proverbial ship with 21 points in the third quarter, only to allow 15 in the final frame, including a 75-yard touchdown pass to Albert Wilson.
Chicago came into Miami off a bye week and had perfect health, but watched as its vaunted defense allowed 541 total yards.
4. Cowboys roll Jaguars, creating more uncertainty
The Dallas Cowboys took care of business on Sunday, throttling the Jaguars while having their way with their defense. Dak Prescott and Co. had a field day in the 40-7 win, with Prescott throwing for 183 yards and two touchdowns while Ezekiel Elliott accounted for 106 rushing yards. All told, both teams now find themselves 3-3 and very much in the playoffs pictures of their respective conferences.
Still, the Jaguars have to be worried about their fortunes moving forward. Jacksonville is tied for the division lead with the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans, with each in the trio looking terrible at times and borderline competent at others. Now, though, the Jaguars have to hold both foes off after having a chance to run away with the division in the early going.
5. Saints, Rams are clearly NFC’s best after six weeks
The Los Angeles Rams are 6-0, and they’re the best team in the league both through record and eye test. After beating the overmatched Broncos, the Rams have to be feeling like a juggernaut rolling toward another NFC West crown, although the potential long-term loss of Cooper Kupp is a major problem.
As for the New Orleans Saints, they had the week off while sitting pretty at 4-1. The South was supposed to be brutal, but it’s shaping up to be a breeze. The Atlanta Falcons and Buccaneers both have major issues defensively, while the Carolina Panthers are an unimpressive 3-2 after losing to the Washington Redskins on Sunday afternoon.
Looking around the conference, which teams are challenging these two? The Philadelphia Eagles are the best bet at 3-3 and defending champions, but it’s likely that Philadelphia would be playing New Orleans and/or Los Angeles on the road come January. The Minnesota Vikings are uber-talented and 3-2-1, but they have plenty to prove after a rough September.
Beyond that? The NFC, supposedly a beastly conference headed into the season, has been much more lamb than lion to this juncture.
History lesson
Weeb Ewbank might be the most underrated coach in league history. Ewbank helped the Baltimore Colts go from afterthoughts to champions, beating the New York Giants in the 1958 NFL Championship Game, also known as the Greatest Game Ever Played. The contest is largely credited with putting pro football on the map.
Then, with the New York Jets, Ewbank beat the Colts in Super Bowl III, engineering the greatest upset in NFL history. While Ewbank is in the Hall of Fame, he’s largely forgotten as so many of his accomplishments happened prior to the Super Bowl era.
Parting shot
The AFC is going to be much more fun than originally anticipated.
New England was the favorite in most circles coming into Week 1, and some might still peg the Patriots as such. Then again, the Chiefs have the look of a contender, shoddy defense and all. Kansas City erased a 15-point halftime deficit at Foxborough and went toe-to-toe with Brady, using a precocious youngster to fight back into the game.
If that’s the type of effort it will take to beat the Chiefs, it’ll be quite the chore.
However, while New England and Kansas City will get all the headlines, don’t forget about the Steelers and Chargers. As outlined above, Los Angeles has perhaps the best balance of offense and defense, while Pittsburgh is showcasing a traditionally explosive offense with a defense that can get pressure on the quarterback.
The AFC has a weak underbelly, but the heavy hitters are going to make major noise down the stretch.