Philip Rivers, 38, is not getting any younger but he might be leading one of the best squads in years that is equally loaded on offense and defense. The Bolts went 12-4 last season and sent seven players to the Pro Bowl. This year, the LA Chargers are 16/1 odds to win the Super Bowl according to William Hill.
The LA Chargers went into Kansas City to upset the Chiefs. They held the AFC West lead and the overall top seed in the playoffs before they squandered it with a surprising loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
In the playoffs, the Chargers went on the road and pulled off a tremendous win against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens in Baltimore. However, in the Divisional Round the Chargers failed to show up against the New England Patriots and were knocked out of the playoffs.
AFC WEST SUPER BOWL ODDS:
Kansas City Chiefs 8/1
LA Chargers 16/1
Denver Broncos 66/1
Oakland Raiders 80/1
This season, the AFC West battles the NFC North. The Chargers get to host Aaron Rodgers and the Packers in SoCal, while they face the Bears at Soldier Field in Chicago.
The defense will be tested once again. The Chargers are anchored by Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram.
“We’re the team to beat in the NFL, not just the AFC West, it’s the NFL,” said Melvin Ingram. “We feel like when we’re going against our offense that we need to beat them because they’re the best. They need to beat us because we’re the best. That’s how we’re going to get better.”
The Chargers have two big games against the Chiefs late in their season with games scheduled Week 11 and Week 17. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs are 8/1 odds and trailing the New England Patriots as overall Super Bowl favorites at 7/1.
The LA Chargers are in the second tier of favorites to win the Super Bowl at 16/1 odds along with the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles.
Mel Gordon Bump
It’s never a dull day in Los Angeles when you have teams like the first-place Dodgers, wunderkind coach Sean McVay and the Rams, LeBron and the Lakers drama, and the addition of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George with the Clippers. Throw in the Chargers and there’s no shortage of weird and wacky stuff happening in the City of Angeles.
Just when you thought the Chargers could be a worthy team that could take down the KC Chiefs, they find themselves embroiled in a contract dispute with running back Melvin Gordon.
Much like Ezekiel Elliot, Melvin Gordon is sitting out training camp as a way to leverage a contract extension. These tactics seem more problematic than useful, especially in the lucrative sports-entertainment world of the NFL where the show must go on at all costs. Pro football always had a “next man up” mentality due to the grueling realities of injuries. However, that also applies to training camp/preseason holdouts.
The Chargers will move on without Gordon. He contributed 3,628 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns over the last four seasons. He also put up 10 receiving touchdowns plus 1,577 receiving yards. Austin Ekeler, the backup on the depth chart, is getting all the reps in practice. Justin Jackson, a second-year player out of Northwestern, looked good in limited action late last season.
Meanwhile, Rivers has one of the best WR tandems in the NFL with Keenan Allen and Mike Williams.