With Thanksgiving only a few days away, we all know that next month is December. The regular season is almost at an end and the San Diego Chargers are expected to make their “December Run” by most of the sports world. However, the team’s remaining game schedule may trip them up.
The Chargers began the season 5-1 sitting atop the AFC West. The team’s only loss at that point was the fourth-quarter implosion against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1. The team then went on to have a five-game winning streak against the struggling Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks and four teams with below .500 records for the past few seasons: Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Jets and Oakland Raiders. The team beat the Bills (22-10), blew out the Jaguars (33-14) and shut out the flightless Jets (31-0). It was at this point that Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers began to be mentioned in the MVP race after throwing 15 touchdowns and one interception in five games.
It became apparent when Raiders rookie quarterback Derek Carr could keep up with Rivers, matching touchdown for touchdown, that the Chargers’ defense was not playing well. Defensive woes would cause the team to go on a three-game skid losing to the Kansas City Chiefs (23-20), Denver Broncos (35-21) and Miami Dolphins (37-0). It’s almost not worth mentioning the Chargers swept the once-winless Raiders after coming back from a bye. But, it happened.
The Chargers sit with a 7-4 record, currently in the sixth seed in the AFC playoff picture. Unfortunately for this squad, their remaining schedule looks likely to trip them up on their “December Run” that Bolts fans love to brag about. “December is our month” should be “December is going to be rough” as the team plays at Baltimore next. Following the Baltimore Ravens, they have a home game against Jonas Gray and the New England Patriots, and then face the AFC West-leading Broncos. The team travels to San Francisco to take on the San Francisco 49ers before ending their regular season at Kansas City.
Considering their remaining schedule, the Chargers seem poised for a 7-9 season and watching the postseason on television. Maybe Carr will invite them over to watch the Super Bowl.
Andrea-Nickole Malloyd is a NFL Writer for www.Rantsports.com. Follow her on Twitter @andrea_nickole.
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