The Kansas City Chiefs rule the AFC West, and we know the Las Vegas Raiders are the worst team in the division.
But figuring out the second-best team has been hard this season. Until Thursday night.
It’s a simple barometer—the Los Angeles Chargers defeated the Denver Broncos both times they played.
They may share a 9-6 record with two games to go, but the Chargers own the head-to-head tiebreaker thanks to Thursday night’s 34-27 home win over the Broncos.
The Chargers also recorded a 23-16 win in Denver on Oct. 13.
Both teams are overwhelming favorites to claim AFC wild-card spots, and that is a huge deal for Denver, as it would be the franchise’s first playoff berth since the 2015 season. You know, when Peyton Manning won the Super Bowl for the Broncos and Von Miller was one of the top defensive players in the league.
That is like ages ago.
The Chargers have made the playoffs just twice in the past 10 seasons, and the 2022 season trip won’t be forgotten for a long time due to it being one of the worst postseason collapses in the history of the sport.
Los Angeles held a 27-0 lead and the Jacksonville Jaguars came all the way back. Jacksonville’s only lead came on the game-ending field goal that gave the Jags a 31-30 victory.
That is the only playoff game that Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert has played in and he’s now in his fifth season.
Herbert passed for 284 yards and two touchdowns against one interception on Thursday while slightly outplaying Denver counterpart Bo Nix (263 yards, two touchdowns) in a battle of former Oregon quarterbacks.
The script was different Thursday, but the result was the same.
In Denver, Los Angeles was in control most of the way and led 23-0 in the fourth quarter before the Broncos rallied.
That also was the contest in which Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh had a heart rhythm issue just prior to kickoff and left early in the first quarter to be treated.
In Thursday’s rematch, Denver was initially the stronger team and jumped out to a 21-10 lead on three drives of 70 or more yards. But Los Angeles made some adjustments and took control and scored 21 consecutive second-half points to pull away.
The Chargers limited Nix to one pass play over 20 yards—a 53-yarder to Marvin Mims Jr.—and made him look for shorter routes as running back Javonte Williams was targeted a mind-boggling 11 times.
Broncos coach Sean Payton didn’t have any answers in the second half while his offense managed just two field goals.
Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh mixed in enough Gus Edwards runs (68 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries) to keep the Denver defense honest. Meanwhile, Herbert continues to mesh with rookie wideout Ladd McConkey, who had six catches (on six targets) for 87 yards.
McConkey is 40 yards away from a 1,000-yard season and has 13 receptions of 20 or more yards. Los Angeles has a guy it can rely on in the postseason.
Oh yeah, there is no chance of this team missing the playoffs even though both remaining games are on the road. They visit the New England Patriots on Dec. 28 and then visit those awful Raiders in Week 18.
Again, no chance of going 0-2 against those teams.
Denver had won four straight games prior to Thursday’s loss, so there’s no reason to panic. The Broncos would have to lose two more in a row and have another AFC team win their last three.
A team that could do that—the Cincinnati Bengals—hosts Denver on Dec. 28. If the Bengals beat the Cleveland Browns this weekend and then defeat the Broncos, folks in the Mile High City will get highly nervous as their Week 18 opponent is the Kansas City Chiefs.
Of course, Carson Wentz could be the quarterback that day and not Patrick Mahomes.
Anyway, both these teams should end up in the playoffs, but we have seen which one is better. And that’s the team that won both meetings by seven points.
