Los Angeles Chargers: 1-2 start is nothing to panic about

Many Los Angeles Chargers fans might be thinking “here we go again” after the team’s slow start in the 2018-2019 season. Don’t worry, everything will be fine.

There are three things that Los Angeles Chargers fans can take to the bank about the team that they support and love.

One is that the team is going to have kicking troubles. No matter who the kicker is, there seems to be a curse on the Chargers that affects even the best of legs. From extra-points to field goals, no kick is safe for LA.

The second is that the Chargers tend to make key mistakes in big games. Whether it is fumbles, avoidable interceptions or special teams buffs, the Chargers have proven time and time again to stand toe-to-toe with the best in the league only to fizzle the result away with mistakes.

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Finally, the Los Angeles Chargers are prone to slow starts and fast recoveries. Even back in the San Diego late-2000s glory days, the Chargers would start the season in underwhelming fashion before charging to the finish line at season’s end.

Last year, a 9-3 finish was not good enough to overcome an 0-4 start and the Chargers missed the postseason as a result of a three-team tiebreaker. This year, a promising Chargers team has started the year 1-2 with many expecting at least two wins at this point.

However, this start is much different than the past slow starts that have plagued the franchise. Los Angeles has arguably had the hardest first three games in the league and have a nice stretch of schedule coming up.

While the Buffalo Bills were a cakewalk in Week 2, the Chargers faced most people’s Super Bowl favorites in the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams in Weeks 1 and 3.

In both games, the Chargers missed key kicks that affected the contest and in both games the Chargers easily could have won if it weren’t for a few key mistakes. While LA lost both games by 10 or more points, the team hung in both games until the end.

Most, if not all, teams would start the season with a 1-2 record after playing those two teams. While it is concerning to have a two-game deficit to cut in the AFC West, this does not hurt the Chargers’ chances at making the postseason.

In just a few weeks, this 1-2 start is going to seem like a thing of the past and the Los Angeles Chargers will once again be a playoff favorite.

In Week 4, the Chargers play a San Francisco 49ers team without Jimmy Garoppolo and no real weapons on the offensive side of the ball. A once tough matchup has now turned into a game that the Chargers should win by 10 or more points.

After that, the Chargers host the winless Oakland Raiders in a game that the team should run away with. And while the Cleveland Browns have a tough defense and are legitimately talented, the Chargers’ Week 6 matchup in Cleveland shouldn’t be much of a headache.

Week 7 has a tough contest in the Tennessee Titans, a team that sticks around every game and could beat the Chargers with a few big plays. This game is in London which makes it more interesting. However, it is still a game the Chargers should win.

LA should be 5-2 heading into the bye week. The first game from the bye is the Seattle Seahawks in Seattle. The Chargers are much more talented, however, there are always games that teams should win and they don’t. For arguments sake, we’ll give that game to the Seahawks.

The remaining schedule is against the Raiders, Arizona Cardinals, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens, Chiefs and two games against the Denver Broncos.

With home games against the Bengals, Ravens and Cardinals the Chargers don’t have too challenging of a finish. Those eight games should yield at least five wins. If the Chargers are 5-3 at the midpoint of the season, that makes the team 10-6, good enough for a playoff spot.

The Los Angeles Chargers got through the hardest part of the schedule with at least one game to show. If the team does what it should in the final 13, the playoffs are practically a guarantee.