5 likeliest NFL teams to go worst-to-first in 2020

With this next team, things are starting to get a little more interesting. Could the Los Angeles Chargers seriously go worst to first? In that division? There’s no way, but what if there was? Odds are, the Chargers won’t be as bad as they were a season ago. If they were as good as they were in 2018, then yes, they’ve got a tremendous opportunity to actually pull this off.

Should they upgrade at quarterback over Philip Rivers, whether it’s Tyrod Taylor, a first-round draft pick or a prospective free agent, Los Angeles should creep back over .500. No more YOLO balls being sidearmed out of Rivers’ right arm socket will be there to undermine the Chargers’ offensive goals. The defense could be great and so too could be the offense it everything hits.

Of course, the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs loom large, but it wouldn’t be the first team we’ve seen a Super Bowl champion regress the year after winning it all. A Chiefs implosion is not likely, but the AFC West will be better than it was a year ago. The Las Vegas Raiders could be on the rise and the Denver Broncos are certainly on the rise in 2020.

Not to say the AFC West will cannibalize itself, but the Chiefs aren’t guaranteed to go 6-0 or 5-1 in divisional play next fall. A tougher push from all three rival teams in the division could lower the winning number to something around 11 games. With a tiebreaker, perhaps an 11-5 Chargers team could host a playoff game at brand-new SoFi Stadium next January? It’s possible.