2019 Los Angeles Chargers Schedule: Full Listing of Dates, Times and TV Info

In one year, the Los Angeles Chargers will finally be playing in a football stadium.

For now, they have one year left at the Dignity Health Sports Park, where they'll enter the 2019 season as a Super Bowl contender.

The Chargers are coming off a 12-4 campaign and defeated the Baltimore Ravens in the wild-card round of the postseason before being blown out by the New England Patriots.

The franchise hasn't made the playoffs in consecutive years in a decade, so let's take a look at the 2019 slate and assess the chances. 

Chargers 2019 Schedule

Week 1: vs. Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Sept. 8 at 4:05 p.m. ET (CBS)

Week 2: at Detroit Lions on Sunday, Sept. 15 at 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

Week 3: vs. Houston Texans on Sunday, Sept. 22 at 4:25 p.m. ET (CBS)

Week 4: at Miami Dolphins on Sunday, Sept. 29 at 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

Week 5: vs. Denver Broncos on Sunday, Oct. 6 at 4:05 p.m. ET (CBS)

Week 6: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, Oct. 13 at 8:20 p.m. ET (NBC)

Week 7: at Tennessee Titans on Sunday, Oct. 20 at 4:05 p.m. ET (CBS)

Week 8: at Chicago Bears on Sunday, Oct. 27 at 1 p.m. ET (Fox)

Week 9: vs. Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Nov. 3 at 4:25 p.m. ET (CBS)

Week 10: at Oakland Raiders on Thursday, Nov. 7 at 8:20 p.m. ET (Fox, NFL Network, Amazon)

Week 11: vs. Kansas City Chiefs in Mexico City on Monday, Nov. 18 at 8:15 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Week 12: BYE WEEK

Week 13: at Denver Broncos on Sunday, Dec. 1 4:25 p.m. ET (CBS)

Week 14: at Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, Dec. 8 at 4:05 p.m. ET (Fox)

Week 15: vs. Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec. 15 at 8:20 p.m. ET (NBC)

Week 16: vs. Oakland Raiders on either Saturday, Dec. 21 or Sunday, Dec. 22 at TBD (TBD)

Week 17: at Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, Dec. 29 at 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

Analysis

The Chargers are tied with the Carolina Panthers for the 16th-hardest schedule next season based on their opponents' 2018 record.

They'll have five games against 2018 playoff teams, a pair against the division-winning Chiefs, home games with the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts and a road trip to Chicago for a matchup with the Bears.

The AFC West's common opponents are the AFC South and NFC North, which is about as Jekyll and Hyde as you can get. The AFC South is again a mix of some of football's most mediocre teams, whereas the NFC North is filled top-to-bottom with teams that could be playoff contenders. 

Luckily for the Chargers, the vast majority of their difficult games are at home—though that doesn't mean as much given their lack of home-field advantage. The Texans, Colts, Packers, Vikings and Steelers all make trips to Los Angeles. Couple that with divisional opponents, and (at least) seven of the eight home games the Chargers play this season will be against playoff-contending teams.

Even managing a 4-4 home record would be a strong outcome, especially because the Chargers have a chance at matching their 7-1 road mark from a year ago. Trips to Chicago and Kansas City will be the only times L.A. should be a road dog this season.

It will be another weird home-road split for a team with the strangest stadium situation in football.

Pivotal Matchups

The Chargers simply have to win games they're supposed to. Sweeping the Raiders and Broncos is a start, then rolling through the tanking Dolphins gets them to five wins.

Finding five more across the schedule will be the difference between the Chargers getting into the playoffs and being a disappointment. They should be able to get past the Lions and Titans without much issue, but both are losable road games.

Nearly every game the Chargers play at home will be pivotal. They're going to be consistently tested against good, well-coached teams, and they're going to need to play well in close contests. That's not always been the strength of this Philip Rivers-led bunch.

That said, the talent on this roster is considerable. It would be an unfathomable disappointment if they were to somehow miss the playoffs. 

A 10-6 record and a wild-card berth is a decent bet.