Chargers' remaining strength of schedule is a bit misleading

After a sensational start to the season that saw the Los Angeles Chargers earn always-important divisional wins over the Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, and Denver Broncos, the Bolts hit a bit of a rough patch, losing three of four to drop to 4-3. And even the victory they earned in that stretch proved difficult, as they needed a minor miracle from Justin Herbert to sneak past the Miami Dolphins in Week 6.

Since the final defeat in that four-game stretch, which was an embarrassing 14-point loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 7, the Chargers, despite dealing with all sorts of injury issues, have gotten back on track with another trio of consecutive wins, earning victories over the Minnesota Vikings, Tennessee Titans, and Pittsburgh Steelers.

At 7-3, the Bolts remain in second place in the AFC West behind the surprising Denver Broncos (8-2) but currently own the top wild-card spot in the conference, sitting a game ahead in the win column over the Buffalo Bills (6-3) and two full games ahead of the Jacksonville Jaguars (5-4), the latter of whom just happens to be the first of the Chargers' seven remaining opponents.

Here's a quick look at the remaining slate for Los Angeles over the final eight weeks, with each opponent's current record listed as well.

• Week 11: at Jacksonville Jaguars (5-4)
• Week 12: Bye
• Week 13: vs. Las Vegas Raiders (2-7)
• Week 14: vs. Philadelphia Eagles (7-2)
• Week 15: at Kansas City Chiefs (5-4)
• Week 16: at Dallas Cowboys (3-5-1)
• Week 17: vs. Houston Texans (4-5)
• Week 18: at Denver Broncos (8-2)

Remaining strength of schedule for all 32 NFL teams heading into Week 11

And now, let's have a look at where the Bolts rank among all 32 teams in terms of remaining strength of schedule.

As you can see, the Chargers have the 10th-toughest schedule down the stretch and the third-toughest in the AFC, trailing only the Indianapolis Colts and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Now, the main reason why Los Angeles ranks so highly is due to the matchups with the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles and the Broncos, who have a combined record of 15-4. Take those two teams off the board, and the overall winning percentage of the Chargers' remaining opponents drops from .539 to .433. Of course, we can't take those two games off the board, but it's still worth noting, as those may end up being the only two games in which Los Angeles isn't favored.

After this Sunday's matchup with the Jags, who've lost three of four and needed overtime to get the lone win in that stretch against the two-win Raiders, the Bolts will get their much-needed bye before resuming play in Week 13 against those same Raiders, who Los Angeles took down in Week 2 by a score of 20-9. So, these are certainly very winnable games.

Then comes the matchup with the Eagles, which will undoubtedly be a challenge, and that's followed by a critical Week 15 matchup in Kansas City against the Chiefs, who wouldn't even be in the postseason if it started today, by the way. If Los Angeles can secure the season sweep, that would obviously go a long way if a head-to-head tiebreaker comes into play. And again, any win within the division is huge.

It's hard to know what to make of the matchup with the Cowboys in Week 16, as America's Team can put up points in a hurry. But the Dallas defense continues to be shaky, but we'll have to wait and see if the additions of Quinnen Williams and Logan Wilson do anything to improve that unit.

It's also hard to know what to make of the Texans right now, as they've had the opposite issues that Dallas has had. The Houston defense is fantastic, but the offense, even when C.J. Stroud is healthy, has, for the most part, been fairly average. That said, with Davis Mills under center this past week, the Texans posted 36 points in a win over the Jags.

And then, of course, comes the regular-season finale in Denver against the Broncos, which could very well decide the AFC West. Denver still has two remaining games with Kansas City, the first being this Sunday with the second set for Christmas Day, as well as matchups with the Packers and Jags. So, it'll be very interesting to see where things stand come Week 18.

With where they are now, the Chargers could, in theory, go 4-3 the rest of the way and likely still comfortably reach the postseason at 11-6, just as they did a season ago. But you can bet that Jim Harbaugh doesn't want to settle for that same record and has his sights set on leading Los Angeles to its first division title since 2009, which would likely take at least 12 wins.