San Diego Chargers: 10 Reasons The Bolts Will Win The AFC West
In what can easily be called the most lopsided game of the 2010 season, the San Diego Chargers absolutely dominated the Kansas City Chiefs on both sides of the ball, posting 31 points on their reformed defense as well as holding their offense to 67 yards through the whole game.
With that win, the Chargers show that they aren't going quietly into the night.
The question is, though, can they still win the AFC West?
The short answer? Yes.
The long answer? Well, here are 10 reasons why the Chargers continue their streak to five straight AFC West crowns.
10. Mike Tolbert
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By now, most of you who have read my articles in the past know that I am a huge fan of Mike Tolbert. He represents the dying remnants of the power running game that has all but left the San Diego Chargers.
With Ryan Mathews back and healthy, the Chargers will likely start scaling back his role, but that doesn't quite mean that his impact will be less on the team.
Mike Tolbert will likely remain the third-and-short back as well as the goal line back, and he is a great weapon in both of those capacities. Tolbert is strong, physical, and leverages well, so he practically always makes it past the line of scrimmage.
As long as he is getting snaps in crucial short yardage positions, the Chargers can feel safe.
9. The Return Of The Injured
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The Chargers have really suffered this year on account of injuries, especially in the last few weeks, when they have had to play without Antonio Gates, Legedu Naanee, and Louis Vasquez (among others).
Within the next week or two, the Chargers should have Antonio Gates (and possibly Patrick Crayton) back on the field, and big players like Louis Vasquez, Darren Sproles, Vincent Jackson, and Brandon Siler will continue to get back to perfect health.
8. The Do-Or-Die Effect
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Much like it is in this photo, the sun is setting on the San Diego Chargers' season. They are still one game behind Kansas City in the division, so the ball is still in the court of the Chiefs, but the Chargers know that one more loss will officially put them out of the hunt and will have them booking vacations for January.
They proved that having their backs up against the wall doesn't always manage to do it against Oakland, but now that they have no leeway, expect San Diego to ramp it up every game like they did against the Chiefs.
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7. Norv Turner Wants to Keep His Job
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A lot of people have said that Norv Turner is in no danger of losing his job at the end of this season, on account of the fact that he signed a contract extension this past off season.
However, if Norv Turner continues to coach the Chargers flat in crucial games like he did against the Raiders, it would be the best decision for San Diego to cut ties with the coach.
It will be even easier for them to do so if the Chargers play themselves out of the playoff race in one of the next three games.
6. The Collapsing AFC West
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Sure, the Chiefs will likely perform a little better with their starting quarterback in, but can it really be enough considering how badly they lost against the San Diego Chargers?
The Chiefs need to win out in order to win the AFC West title, which will be no small task, considering that they play the Rams in St. Louis as well as Tennessee and Oakland.
The Raiders and the Broncos, on the other hand, have shown that they really aren't headed anywhere. The Raiders managed to blow their game Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, despite appearing like they had it in the bag. Meanwhile, the Broncos are totally out of it, especially after an embarrassing blowout loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
5. Strength Of Schedule
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The Chargers may have three of the easiest games possible left on their schedule, as they face San Francisco, Denver, and Cincinnati in the next three weeks.
The 49ers have recently discovered how to win games, but they have a history of being steamrolled throughout the season, as do the other two opponents that the Chargers plan on facing.
They cannot take these games lightly, but they should be fairly easy wins.
4. The Defense
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After being more or less torn apart by the Oakland Raiders, Ron Rivera and his defensive unit really put on a show against the Kansas City Chiefs, posting four sacks and holding the Chiefs to 67 yards of total offense through the whole game.
If they continue to play at this kind of level, there is no reason why the Chargers shouldn't at least win their next three games.
3. Defending The Title
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Philip Rivers must be pointing at the four consecutive AFC West titles that the Chargers have posted.
San Diego has a history of bringing home the AFC West title, no matter how badly the season goes (see 2008), and this year is shaping up to be no exception.
While 10-6 wouldn't be a bad record, it would still be considered sneaking into the lead in the AFC West, since the Kansas City Chiefs still hold a one game lead.
History has the Chargers back, though, because they always seem to manage it somehow.
2. Keeping The Team in San Diego
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I'm sure that the members of the San Diego Chargers are just as aware as we are that there are plenty of rumors floating around concerning a potential move to Los Angeles.
While that wouldn't be a drastic move for most of them, they would all probably rather stay in San Diego, and the people of San Diego would rather have them stay as well.
If they want to convince the city of San Diego to build a stadium, thus ensuring the stay of San Diego, the Chargers need to make a deep playoff run, and they have all the makings of it.
Nothing would get in the way of that kind of destiny, right?
1. Philip Rivers
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He may not be on pace for a 5,000 yard season anymore, but, rest assured, as long as Philip Rivers is on his game, so are the Chargers.
Take the game against Oakland as an example. For most of the game, Philip Rivers was totally flat, and, therefore, so was the rest of the team.
Rivers is playing at a very high level right now, and should all but guarantee the next three wins if he can continue at this level.
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