Expectations for the Jim Harbaugh-led Los Angeles Chargers are sky-high. This is based on Harbaugh’s uncanny ability to take a once-losing football team and trust them into the national conversation through the art of winning football games. Most were expecting that Harbaugh would do the same for the Bolts — take them from the 5-12 squad they were last season and put them in playoff contention in one season.
Sitting at 3 and 3 with a lot of games left to be played, that reality has yet to be defined. But Marcus Mosher of the 33rd team still believes in this team. Here is what he wrote in his recent article; Making Sense Of NFL’s Contenders and Pretenders This Season.
Are The Chargers Contenders Or Pretenders?
“The Los Angeles Chargers are so close to being 5-1 and leading the AFC West.” Mosher writes, “But just like in most seasons for the Chargers, injuries and bad luck have cost them in big games. The lack of a consistent weapon in the passing game has already become evident, and teams are now loading up to stop the run.
The good news for Los Angeles is that Justin Herbert is healthy now and is playing some of the best football of his career. They have the No. 1 ranked scoring defense, and we know that Jim Harbaugh is one of the top coaches in the league.
Eventually, it will figure out ways to close these games, so we will call the Chargers a contender in the shallow AFC. But for them to be considered a true Super Bowl contender, they’ve got to find a reliable target for Herbert moving forward.”
Mosher’s final verdict is that the Chargers are contenders, but he also added the caveat that is contingent on them finding a reliable target for Herbert moving forward.
In his article, he also discusses three other AFC teams; the Denver Broncos, Indianapolis Colts, and Cincinnati Bengals. He labels the Broncos and Colts as pretenders.
