Los Angeles Chargers: Knee-jerk reaction to Kansas City win, from a fan
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Chargers broke a streak five years in the making on Thursday night and made the AFC West Title race a whole lot more interesting.
If you read my columns where I show emotion and write in the first person then you will know one thing: I am a die-hard Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Chargers fan.
When I don’t write these columns, I keep things fair, down the middle and report them as is. I try not to slight any LA team as my job is to cover all LA Sports equally and fairly. The Dodgers and Chargers, though, have an obvious special place in my heart.
I developed my love for the Chargers from my dad, who spent part of his young life in San Diego supporting the Bolts. I fell in love with the team when LaDainian Tomlinson made his rise to the top of the NFL. I was eight years old when LT broke the single-season touchdown record.
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And while the Dodgers are probably the team I am more passionate about, the Chargers hold a special place in my heart because of the connection with my father. I have always said if I had to choose which team to win it all first I would pick the Chargers, just so my dad could see it happen.
My dad is only 45 and still has a lot of life to live, so the Chargers have some time, but watching the team be mediocre for most of my teenage years and years into adulthood and driven my father away.
Mix that with the interesting decision to move from San Diego (although I liked it because I could now cover the team) and my dad, although he still loved the team, was not as passionate as he was before.
This season has reignited that passion and two wins in particular, over the Steelers and Chiefs, have returned my dad to his old ways of screaming and parading around the house after a win.
Last night was a huge win for the Los Angeles Chargers, you already know that. This team, who in years past would crumble in these games, came back from a 14-point deficit with five minutes remaining without Keenan Allen, Melvin Gordon or Austin Ekeler ON THE ROAD, nonetheless.
Now the Chargers have a shot to win the AFC West, although the team needs some help. Now the Ravens’ choke job last week stings a little more. The ugly loss to the Broncos earlier in the season hurts a lot more.
There is a chance that the Chargers finish 13-3 and are still the fifth seed in the AFC. This team could have the joint best record in the league and not even get a first-round bye.
It doesn’t matter. The win over the Steelers first showed it and now this win over the Chiefs cemented it. The Los Angeles Chargers are the best team in the AFC.
Yep. THE best team in the AFC.
What other team has the weapons that the Chargers have? The Chargers have an elite running back (who wasn’t even playing against the Steelers or Chiefs), something that no other AFC playoff team has. I guess you could make the case for the Ravens running game, but that is a group effort.
The Chargers have an elite quarterback to go up against Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady, Deshaun Watson and whoever else wants a taste of Philip Rivers. The receiving corps is as good, if not better than the receiving corps that the Chiefs have.
The defense, although it has its holes, is better than the Chiefs, better than the Patriots, and is as good, if not better, than the Texans. The Ravens might have the advantage in that department but don’t have the same dynamic playmakers on the offensive side of the ball.
This team is deep. This team has fought and has shown that they can come back from two possession deficits against elite offenses on the road without the top-tier running back.
Does all of this mean that the Los Angeles Chargers will represent the AFC in the Super Bowl? No. This doesn’t even mean that the Chargers will win a playoff game. There is still the sliver of doubt in the back of my mind, as a Charger fan, that this team will squander an entire season with one or two mistakes in the playoffs.
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However, if this season has shown us anything it has shown us that this Los Angeles Chargers team is different from years past. Let’s finish out the year strong and hope that the Seattle Seahawks can dethrone the Chiefs next week.