Chargers need a win Sunday to make serious playoff run

The Chargers are playoff bound, but a Week 18 win against Denver would clinch the fifth seed and probably ensure a longer postseason run.

If the Chargers are seeded fifth, they will play the mediocre AFC South champion (Jacksonville or Tennessee). If they are seeded sixth, they'll get the more challenging AFC North champion, either the defending AFC champion Bengals or the Ravens.

No matter who they play, the Chargers' first-round playoff game will be on the road.

Despite making the playoffs, the Chargers have issues. The team’s run defense problems are well-documented.

In the Chargers' 31-10 win Sunday, Rams running back Cam Akers gouged Los Angeles with a season-high 123 yards on 19 carries. The Rams have one of the league's worst rushing attacks.

Jacksonville and Tennessee have strong run games, and they might cause the Chargers headaches in a playoff game, but the teams are ultimately one-dimensional. 

Jacksonville’s quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s performances have been hit and miss this year while the Titans’ quarterback situation is uncertain after right ankle surgery effectively ended Ryan Tannehill’s season. 

Compared to a Bengals juggernaut that boasts elite quarterback talent in Joe Burrow and Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon and a Ravens team that will soon have Lamar Jackson back, Los Angeles would almost certainly perform better against the Southern squads.     

The Jaguars trounced the Chargers early in the season, 38-10, but quarterback Justin Herbert had fractured his rib cartilage the week before. If the teams meet again, he probably will play much better.

The Chargers’ last playoff win came against Baltimore at the end of the 2018 season though they lost in the Division round to the Tom Brady-led New England Patriots. 

Per OddsChecker, the Titans are a 6.5-point underdog for their game Sunday at Jacksonville, the de facto AFC South championship game.