Los Angeles Chargers-B+
If Mahomes hadn’t dominated the headlines for much of the season, Philip Rivers would have been the MVP in the minds of a lot of NFL observers. He had an amazing campaign for a 37-year-old signal caller with so many miles on his arm. Throwing for 4,300 yards and 32 touchdowns is pretty good at any age.
As you might expect, the Chargers offense was pretty good. They weren’t great in any single category, but they were solidly above average at everything. That mix makes you one of the top-10 offenses in the league by a pretty comfortable margin.
Interestingly enough, the team’s defense was even better. Even though they played significant games without Joey Bosa, this group still finished the campaign in the top-10 of every major category. The addition of Derwin James can’t be overstated. He gave the Chargers a real difference-maker all over the field and he even managed to lead the team in tackles. The Chargers defense is well positioned to be a good group for years to come.
Winning the playoff game at Baltimore was a nice feather in this team’s cap, but it didn’t cause them to exceed expectations. Winning at New England would have accomplished that feat, but Rivers just couldn’t conjure up that type of magic. It was a good, but not great season for Los Angeles.