Unpacking LA's Increasingly Shakier Route To Postseason

December football is right around the corner, and your Los Angeles Chargers have a record of 4-7, a record at this point that nobody had at the beginning of the year for a team that was listed as a potential fringe Super Bowl contender.

With their chances of reaching the playoffs slipping away, the route to the postseason is getting a lot more tougher for LA.

The Chargers have six games remaining on the schedule. Four of those, are against division opponents. LA still has to play the  Denver Broncos, Las Vegas Raiders, and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Divisional Opponents

With the Chargers slated to play the Chiefs on the last game of the year, they could find themselves playing Kansas City's backups if the Chiefs are able to lock up the number one seed in the AFC before then.

The Broncos, however, are not the same Broncos team that lost 70-20 against the Miami Dolphins in Week 3. They are one of the hottest teams in football and are riding a five-game win streak, including wins over the Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, and at the time, the 7-3 Cleveland Browns.

The Broncos are starting to believe in themselves and are gaining momentum at the right time of the year.

Las Vegas gave the Chargers a good matchup in week four but LA would come out as the winner of the game 24-17.

Since then, Antonio Pierce has taken over for Josh McDaniels as the head coach of the Raiders and Jimmy Garoppolo is no longer the quarterback.

The Raiders are coming together as a team and are slowly but surely regaining confidence. In a Dec. matchup against a divisional opponent, the Raiders could be looking to either play for a playoff spot or play spoiler against a longtime rival.

However, despite the productive play out of the Raiders recently, the one thing that remains true is Aidan O'Connell does not seem to be the answer at QB for Las Vegas.

Non Divisional Opponents

Aside from the key four divisional games, the Chargers will still face two AFC opponents that could be winnable games for LA.

This weekend, the Chargers traveling to Foxborough, Massachussetts to take on the New England Patriots. 

It seems the Patriots have lost "the Patriot way" as they are 2-9 for the first time since 1992. With the Patriots not looking like themselves, the Chargers need to come away with a victory this Sunday.

In week 16, the Chargers will have another key game on the schedule as they are hosting the Buffalo Bills.

The Bills are in a very similar situation as the Chargers, as both teams were considered Super Bowl contenders at the beginning of the year and have just underperformed in 2023.

The Bills are 6-6 right now and have a tough road ahead as they still have to play the Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys, and the Dolphins. 

This year, something hasn't seemed right with the Bills, and could make this week 16 game one that the Chargers could sneak away with.

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