The Los Angeles Chargers are snakebit. Unfortunate injuries have been a common scene for the team the past several years, which has helped rob any chance of success despite the presence of upper-tier quarterback Philip Rivers.
Rivers is advancing in age, so it seems like the team’s window to contend with him at the helm is closing. In their first year in Los Angeles after moving north from San Diego, the Chargers hope to show some progress.
There are a lot of unknowns, so clearly they aren’t listed among the favorites in the AFC. Their division is hard enough in itself with the Oakland Raiders, Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs all formidable foes. If the Chargers can somehow navigate that and make it to the playoffs, they would likely have to get past the Pittsburgh Steelers or New England Patriots.
The odds are long that the Chargers can make the Super Bowl this season, but they’d certainly like to stay healthy and give it a shot.
AFC Opening Odds at BookMaker.eu
New England Patriots +190
Pittsburgh Steelers +675
Oakland Raiders +700
Kansas City Chiefs +1000
Houston Texans +1200
Denver Broncos +1300
Indianapolis Colts +1500
Baltimore Ravens +1700
Tennessee Titans +2000
Cincinnati Bengals +2300
Miami Dolphins +2500
Los Angeles Chargers +3500
Jacksonville Jaguars +3500
Buffalo Bills +4500
Cleveland Browns +15000
New York Jets +15000
Key Players for Winning the AFC
Philip Rivers – The Chargers quarterback will be 36 years old this season, but signal-callers around the league like Tom Brady and Drew Brees continue to excel in their later years and Rivers hasn’t shown many signs of slowing down. He threw for 4,386 yards with 33 touchdowns a season ago, although Rivers also tossed an ugly 21 interceptions. He has to keep the turnovers down, but he should be helped this year by a beefed-up wide receiving core.
Melvin Gordon – The former first-round pick had a slow start to his career in 2015 but looked good last year. Gordon ran for 997 yards and 10 touchdowns in 13 games. He will aim to stay healthy for the duration of this regular season and improve on a yards-per-carry that was 3.9 a season ago. Gordon added 419 receiving yards and is a nice weapon out of the backfield.
Joey Bosa – The Chargers have a dominant player on their defensive line. Bosa only played in 12 games a year ago but still compiled 10.5 sacks. It wouldn’t be a surprise for him to easily reach double digits once again in 2017 and rise to one of the best defensive ends in football. Bosa has elite talent and the Chargers need to play better defensively this season, of which he is a huge part.
Keenan Allen – Allen is extremely talented but has been hit hard by injuries the past three seasons. He was injured in the very first game of the year in 2016 and missed the entire season with a torn ACL. He easily has the talent to surpass 1,000 yards receiving when healthy, and Los Angeles will be holding out hope he can get through the entire season.
Mike Williams - The Chargers added the former Clemson star wide receiver in the first round of the draft to pair with Allen. However, Williams has been dealing with a serious back injury which could sideline him for some of the season. It’s hard to believe Williams can have a big early impact considering the injury, but maybe he can buck the odds currently facing him.
Casey Hayward - The Chargers cornerback hauled in an NFL-high seven interceptions a season ago and made it to the Pro Bowl. If Hayward can be a shutdown cover man and Bosa dominates up front, those are two nice pieces. Los Angeles will need more than that to make a Super Bowl push, but it won’t be going anywhere without standout seasons from its two defensive stars.
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