The Los Angeles Chargers can be a tough team to figure.
Even after losing arguably their best offensive lineman in the preseason for the year, left tackle Rashawn Slater, they opened the season with a win over the defending American Football League Champion Kansas City Chiefs. Three weeks into the season, Jim Harbaugh’s squad had already beaten all three of their AFC West Division opponents. Following up their win in Brazil over the Chiefs with victories over the Las Vegas Raiders and Denver Broncos.
Then, in Week Four, they got upset on the road against the New York Giants, a game that represented New York’s first win of the year for their soon-to-be fired head coach, Brian DaBoll.
The Chargers were also not done getting hit with injuries that sidelined key players for the year. They lost two starting runnigbacks, Najee Harris and Omarion Hampton, and another top offensive lineman when Joe Alt was knocked out for the year. Their trouble on the scoreboard wasn’t over either. Back home, after their East Coast loss to the Giants, they got run down and run over by the visiting Washington Commanders, 24-10, then required a last second field goal in Miami to avoid a three-game losing streak.
The high perch the Chargers were sitting on after three weeks came crashing down in the succeeding four weeks capped by a home two-touchdown loss to the Indianapolis Colts in mid-October.
That was rock bottom.
Los Angeles responded to their home loss to Indianapolis with three straight wins over the Minnesota Vikings, Tennessee Titans and last Sunday night versus the Pittsburgh Steelers. Their most recent triumph, that conquest over Mike Tomlin’s first place squad from the Steel City, was most intriguing.
The week before, the Chargers had suffered that significant loss off their offensive line when Joe Alt went down with his injury. If you are keeping score, the Chargers have lost a pair of starting runningbacks and their two best offensive linemen. That quartet of talent wearing street clothes on game days would seem to spell doom for the Chargers. But they responded to their most recent injury with a dominating win over the visiting Steelers.
What gives?
The Chargers are an emotional bunch. Challenge them with good teams like the Chiefs, Broncos or Steelers, and they come up with a performance that has them looking like Champions. Give them a game where they appear on paper to dominate their opponent, and they can come up croppers against the likes of the New York Giants, Washington Commanders, Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans.
So, they are now riding another win streak, gained against the Vikings, Titans and Steelers, and head to Jacksonville to meet a Jaguars team they should be able to handle. The Trevor Lawrence led Jaguars have lost their last four games against the spread with only a one-point win over the punchless Las Vegas Raiders not registered in the loss column since their upset win over Kansas City to open October.
I think the Chargers got a boost last week with the challenge of compensating for the loss of Alt, just as they opened the season to overcome the loss of Slater. Now, with that done, the Chargers are in a spot they have had trouble with all season, favored against an inferior opponent.
Are they hard to figure, or is this just the 2025 Chargers being who they are?
Qoxhi Picks: Jacksonville Jaguars (+3) over Los Angeles Chargers