Are The Los Angeles Chargers True Super Bowl Contenders?

Coming into the 2023 NFL season, the Los Angeles Chargers were one of the favorites in the AFC to make it to the Super Bowl. Some would say that head coach Brandon Staley’s job depended on it. Well not to rehash, but the Bolts began the season 0-2 before getting back to .500 just to drop 2 straight again to fall to 2-4.

It was at this point in the season that all seemed lost. There was chatter on whether the team should blow it all up at the trade deadline, including from this writer. Things just seemed broken. Was the coaching as bad as the outside noise made it seem to be? Was the roster overhyped? Were star players letting the team down? Was the culture souring? Was any of it fixable?

All valid questions for a 2-4 football team that had Super Bowl aspirations and a top-5 Quarterback in the league.

Since that moment, the Chargers have won two straight to claw back to .500. The first win came against a hopeless Chicago Bears team that was starting an undrafted rookie quarterback and ultimately had nothing to play for already. This game didn’t really prove anything other than the fact that the Chargers had enough talent to beat up on bad teams. On to the next.

Then came a Monday Night Football Primetime date with the New York Jets. With the loss of QB Aaron Rodgers, it was obvious that the defense was going to have to carry the team. And carry the team they have, to the tune of a 4-3 record heading into this game. They did their job against the Chargers…and still lost 27-6.

The Turning Point For The Los Angeles Chargers

This is the statement that should have Chargers fans most excited. The Chargers offense was all but dominated by the Jets defense, and yet the team won by 21 points. Justin Herbert had his worst statistical game (16-30 for 136 yards) of the season thus far, and the Chargers won by 21. The Chargers had less than 200 total yards of offense and punted eight times, and yet they won by 21.

This is not something that we have seen in the Brandon Staley era. Typically, if Justin Herbert plays poorly, nay, if Justin Herbert isn’t Superman, the Chargers lose. Typically, if the offense doesn’t score 27+ points, the Chargers lose. Typically, if the game turns into a defensive slog…well, we haven’t really seen that so there isn’t a “typically” to base that on.

Now, it should be noted that the Jets offense is bad. Coming into this game they were averaging 18 points per game. So this isn’t the same as dominating the Dolphins or Eagles, however, the Chargers defense made a bad offense look nonexistent, and that is something to build upon.