After seeing the Chargers Week 1 performance, has anything changed about how you see the season playing out? Do you feel that the Chargers have a better chance to win the division and maybe going farther in the playoffs? (Edwin via email)
Edwin kicks us off with a great question after the Chargers started 1-0 in Brazil.
As Week 2 approaches, the vibes are high around The Bolt after a wire-to-wire win over the Chiefs in Week 1.
But did the win in São Paulo actually change my perception of the Bolts?
Not really, and here’s why.
Even before the season started, I thought the Chargers were a serious AFC playoff contender that could make a deep run if things lined up for them in January.
Friday’s win doesn’t change much other than to give me even more belief that the Bolts can do some serious damage in the playoffs if they play as soundly as they did against the Chiefs.
To me, the biggest reason why the Chargers won is that they made more plays in the fourth quarter, a formula that is usually going to get you a win more often than not in the NFL. And it’s a formula the Chiefs have seemingly perfected in recent years, meaning it was pretty meaningful that the Bolts flipped the script on them in Week 1.
However, from a 30,000-foot view, I’ll say that Friday night’s win does give the Chargers a better chance to win the AFC West and make the postseason.
Players and coaches talked adamantly after the game how the win was just one game and that there are 16 more to go.
Which is true, to be sure. But starting Week 1, especially when that win is over the Chiefs, undoubtedly adds some juice to the locker room.
Will the Bolts win the AFC West? Who knows … there’s still plenty of work to be done.
But the obvious answer here is that they’ve put themselves in a much better spot than if they had left São Paulo with a loss.