Michael Lombardi: Can the CHARGERS Upset the Chiefs in the AFC West?

Michael Lombardi: Can the CHARGERS Upset the Chiefs in the AFC West?

while we’re on the NFC West the former 49ers head coach Jim harbon the Chargers I know that’s the higher that you are the most high on it was interesting going through our NFL betting guide earlier today and you see Chiefs Chiefs Chiefs Chiefs Chiefs across the board everybody picked Kansas City to win the division once again like they have year after year after year and they’re over $2 to do so except for one brave soul the one and only Jonathan Von toel he picked the Chargers there do you think they could be one of the two at least teams on paper this year that could make a run from worst to first I think the Bengals are the most obvious one there but the Chargers I know you like their season win total over uh their plus one0 to make the playoffs but could they potentially upset the Chiefs in the division you know that’s a really fair question to ask because I don’t think it’s as Matt yans when we had him on the Pod today to talk about it and he certainly likes the Chargers he has him as a wild card but he raised the same question about could they and and I think it’s a fair question because look the Chiefs are great and and their quarterback’s fabulous but they have to play a certain way I I think there’s still liability in their offensive line at left tackle they don’t know who that’s going to be right the the receiving core is not Elite we don’t know what’s going to happen with rashed rice does he get suspended how does that happen what goes on Kelsey’s another year older there’s a lot of things a lot of moving Parts remember last year they struggle to protect momes a lot of the turnovers came because he was holding the ball trying to throw it up the field make plays when they went back to a run game when all of a sudden Pacho got the ball 21 times a game as opposed to 14 their offense got better will they be willing to do that you know I think we saw it from the beginning of the season last year when they played Detroit who wasn’t a great defense and Detroit held them so I think there’s an air there there’s certainly a area where they can be beaten and the fact is is look injuries play a huge factor in this and it’s hard to play long Seasons to years in a row and come back and play effectively for the third I think that’s the other issue no one we don’t talk enough about the long season for 49er team for the chief team it really wears and tears on your players and it creates injuries no question about it the Chiefs minus 230 to repeat in the AFC West chargers they the second shortest shot at plus 320 and if you look at this Chargers team that went 5 and 12 a year ago and you say hey maybe that’s just too big of a turnaround to expect nine wins double digit wins from this team historically Jim Harbaugh has done it and you look at what he did specifically with the San Francisco 49ers San Francisco’s best season in the eight years before Harbaugh took over was 8-8 it was nearly a decade of sub 500 play the season before with Mike single ter they were 6 and 10 Harbaugh steps in their win total s and a half they go 13 and three and Los in the NFC Championship Game 2012 10- win total they go 11 and5 go to the Super Bowl 2013 11 and 1 half win total they go 12-4 lose a close game to Seattle in the NFC title game it’s it’s just they continue to exceed expectations and he’s done it in every place that he has coached um let’s go and why does he do it why does he do it stormmy I think that’s the real question right you’re so right with your numbers right but I think you as a 49er fan can appreciate Jim is a very good game day manager he does not lose the game he coaches the quarterback protects the football right he protects the ball when you look at the bad teams what do they do they turn it over they make mistakes they mismanage the game you know football’s a game you have to avoid losing before you can win and what harball brings is that and just by managing the game more effectively look what Brian debal did his first year at the Giants he managed the game correctly and they won nine games so I think that’s a big big part of what makes Hardball so successful you know the one retread coach we haven’t talked a lot about is Dan Quinn in the Washington commanders you wrote in the article uh his tenure won’t be defined by his accomplishments in 2024 but rather how he builds this team through rookie quarterback Jaden Daniels if Daniels is good Quinn might get a second contract if he’s just average then he won’t yeah I mean I think to me that this is they got a couple issues here how quickly can Daniels play well that’s going to be an issue we don’t know right I know Marcus Mariota is the backup but can he stay healthy if he does have to go play and two is defensively how good can they become you know there are a lot of moving part here they’ve haded a lot of players in this off season they’ve been one of the most active teams here and they’ve got a lot of people involved in the decision making I mean they’ve got a huge analytic Department I mean they got a huge coaching staff a huge Personnel GM staff so I just think to me this is this could take a little bit of time but there’s going to be an uplift because they’re away from you know the bad owner they’re away from the toxic environment that was hanging over this franchise for the last 20 some years and obviously he’s taken over a team that Ron Rivera did not have success with 2640 and one in Washington under Rivera this past season just four wins allowing over 30 points per game

Hosts of VSiN’s “The Lombardi Line,” Michael Lombardi and Stormy Buonantony, react to Michael’s favorite coaching hire of the NFL offseason: Jim Harbaugh to the Los Angeles Chargers. Will Jim Harbaugh be the catalyst to bring the Chargers from WORST to FIRST and dethrone the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West? Let us know what you think in the comments!

#nfl #football #losangeleschargers #chargers #jimharbaugh #justinherbert #kansascitychiefs #chiefskingdom #chiefs #vsin #draftkings #michaellombardi #lombardiline

VSiN’s NFL BETTING GUIDE IS OUT! 🤑
🏈 Click here for BEST BETS and SUPER BOWL PICKS for the 2024-25 Season🏆
👉 https://bit.ly/4cGuCzc

👇 Subscribe to VSiN online and on social 👇

🔴 Website: https://www.vsin.com
🔵 Twitter / X: @VSiNLive

Subscribe to VSiNPro for BETTING GUIDES & PICKS 👉 https://bit.ly/3UVcMDg
📰 FREE Daily Sports Betting Newsletter 👉 https://bit.ly/3SLyPt2

Daily exclusive written content, Best Bets email notifications, 24/7 LIVE video access and more❗️