5 NFL teams that must win in Week 7

2. Los Angeles Chargers

While the Oakland Raiders may be the NFL’s most surprising team, there is a strong argument that one of their division rivals may be the most disappointing. The Los Angeles Chargers, who went 12-4 a year ago, have already lost four games through just six weeks of play.

There have been a lot of things to go wrong for the Chargers, including injuries. The loss of safety Derwin James has been a killer for the defense, which has been off for most of the year, and the absence of left tackle Russell Okung has destabilized the Chargers’ offensive line.

Even without those players, however, the Chargers still have plenty of talent on their roster and should be capable of competing for a playoff berth. The Chargers have delivered a pair of disappointing efforts the last two weeks, falling at home to the previously-winless Denver Broncos and a Pittsburgh Steelers team starting an undrafted rookie quarterback in Devlin Hodges.

The Pittsburgh defense was problematic for the Chargers, which forced three costly turnovers against Philip Rivers. The Chargers are now in a virtual tie for last place in the AFC West, so they need to get back in the win column this week against another struggling team, the Tennessee Titans.

The Titans have lost two games in a row and just benched Marcus Mariota for Ryan Tannehill in their 16-0 loss to the Broncos. Even with the game in Tennessee, the pressure is on Los Angeles to get back in the winner’s circle with a brutal schedule ahead.