Chargers Look to Make Playoff Push
The San Diego Charger find themselves right in the middle of a heated playoff run with 5 games left to play in the season. At 6-5, the Chargers find themselves tied with the Cleveland Browns and division foe Oakland Raiders for the second wild card spot. They will also be tied with the loser of the Bengals vs Texans week 12 matchup which has yet to be played. Both the Bengals and Texans sit at 6-4 entering that matchup. At 10-1, the Kansas City Chiefs look like they have locked up the AFC West as they are 4 games ahead of the Chargers with only 5 to play. So the Chargers will fight to sneak into a playoff spot and will have to do it against a very difficult schedule. The Chargers will have arguably the toughest road to the wildcard spot. Let's have a look at the remaining schedule:
Week 13: @ Baltimore (10-1)
Week 14: vs. New England (10-1)
Week 15: vs. Denver (5-6)
Week 16: @ San Francisco (8-3)
Week 17: @ Kansas City (10-1)
So there you have it, if the Chargers want to get into the playoffs, they will need to show a ton of heart and play their best game week after week for this 5 week grind. Since taking over ownership of the Chargers in week 8, Tyler Hoyt has seen his team go 2-1, the 2 wins coming in the last 2 games. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come as Head Coach Mike McCoy will need his troops to keep playing good football for the next 5 weeks. Quarterback Philip Rivers (2350 yards, 16 TD, 10 INT) will need to lead his team as he looks to receivers Keenan Allen (541 yards, 3 TD) and Malcom Floyd (445 yards, 3 TD) and veteran tight end Antonio Gates (349 yards, 5 TD) to spread the field out and keep the defense of their toes. The 2 headed rushing attack of Ryan Matthews (537 rush yards, 6 TD, 86 rec yards, 1 TD) and Danny Woodhead (456 rush yards, 6 TD, 122 rec yards, 1 TD) will need to keep the defense honest with Matthews providing straight line running while Woodhead serves as the change of pace back.
The defense will need to step up big time to keep these stellar offensive attacks from putting up points. Veteran outside linebacker Dwight Freeney (53 tackles, 11 sacks) will need to continue to put pressure on opposing QBs and slow the opponents rushing game. The secondary, led by free safety Eric Weddle, will need to lock down opposing receivers and close down the middle of the field. Corners Brandon Ghee (38 tackles, 5 INT) and Jason Verrett (2 INT, 2 TD) will need to provide good man coverage as they will face some pretty good 1 on 1 receivers in the coming weeks.
With the Chargers on the road in Baltimore (10-1) in week 13, lets take a look at the matchup:
QB: Philip Rivers (2350 yards, 16 TD, 10 INT) Joe Flacco (2391 yards, 13 TD, 20 INT)
RB: Ryan Matthews (537 yards, 6 TD) Justin Forsett (769 yards, 6 TD)
WR: Keenan Allen (541 yards, 3 TD) Torrey Smith (628 yards, 5 TD)
TE: Antonio Gates (349 yards, 5 TD) Dennis Pitta (781 yards, 4 TD)
OL: Nick Hardwick ( 6 panckakes, 2 sacks) Eugene Monroe (12 pancakes, 5 sacks)
DL: Corey Liuget (24 tackles, 5 sacks) Haloti Ngata (30 tackles, 6 sacks)
LB: Dwight Freeney (53 tackles, 11 sacks) Terrell Suggs (28 tackles, 8 sacks, 1 INT, 1 TD)
DB: Brandon Ghee (38 tackles, 5 INT) Jimmy Smith (23 tackles, 4 INT, 2 TD)
K: Nick Novak (9/9 FG, Long: 52) Justin Tucker (13/16 FG, Long: 54)