State of the Franchise Chargers enter 2019 as AFC Wests best

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State of the Franchise: Chargers enter 2019 as AFC West's best Published: Jun 06, 2019 at 02:17 AM NFL.com Writer Members of the organization, fans of the team worldwide and those who love a quarterback : Today in Los Angeles, there is a child on a field throwing a football, intent on becoming the next . There is a kid using fancy footwork to dodge his cla smates in the schoolyard in hopes of becoming the next . There is a young athlete putting a swim move on an opponent and getting up the field, dreaming to be the next . Today, football is strong in Los Angeles. Both on the practice field of the Bolts, and in the hearts and minds of football fans around the region. Yes, this is a great time to be a fan of the . How the Chargers got here The highs: -- Rallying to beat the on "Sunday Night Football." They came all the way back to win, 33-30, with a field goal in the final seconds. This had never happened before in the history of the -- they entered that Week 13 game 174-0-1 all-time when ahead by 16 points at home. -- Comeback victory against the in Week 15 on "Thursday Night Football." A couple weeks after stunning the , the got all magical again, rallying from a 28-14 fourth-quarter deficit , 29-28. L.A. clinched a playoff spot with this victory and snapped a nine-game losing streak against Kansas City. -- in the Wild-Card Round. The went on the road to avenge their lo s to Baltimore from a couple weeks earlier (more on that later). It was the franchise's first postseason win in five years. The lows: -- at home in Week 16. Anthony Lynn's squad followed up that huge comeback win at Kansas City with a disastrous lo s to the in Week 16. They mi sed an opportunity to move ahead of the , who also lost in Week 16, in the AFC West race. -- Having to wear . It always seems Kyle Turris Women Jersey to be the . knocked the out of the postseason for the third time in his career, racking up 343 yards pa sing this time around in a 41-28 Divisional Round rout. It was pretty much over by halftime, when New England had a 35-7 lead. 2019 VIPs Head coach: Anthony Lynn. All you need to know about Lynn is that he's not afraid to go for it. When the moved to within a point after Rivers hit on a 1-yard touchdown pa s with four seconds left, he didn't hesitate to go for the win instead of settling for an extra-point attempt that would have tied the game. It was the right move, as Rivers again hit Williams for the game-winning two-point conversion. And while I understand more coaches are being bold and playing the percentages, it still feels like a breath of fresh air when it actually happens. I loved it. And here's another thing about Lynn. It's easy to get overshadowed coaching in L.A., because coach Sean McVay is such an exciting presence. But Lynn is right there with him. He was runner-up for Coach of the Year honors behind Chicago's Matt Nagy last season. There's no doubt he's one of the best coaches in the league. Quarterback: . He's 37 years old, but he's coming off one of the best seasons of his career. He threw for 4,308 yards and 32 touchdowns with just 12 picks. He completed 68.3 percent of his pa ses. He had a pa ser rating of 105.5. And since I have your attention, let me go ahead and put this out there for you: Of the quarterbacks taken in the , he's the best one (yes, over and Eli). And it crushes me that he's never won a . I'm not sure there's a non- player I want to win a more than him. Maybe , but that's it. Rivers is also in the final year of his contract. That could be a distraction for a lot of people. But considering the commitment he's made to have to drive him from his San Diego home to the ' Costa Mesa practice facility, I don't see this being an i sue. He's going to be a Charger for as long as he plays. Projected 2019 MVP: , RB. I'll be very honest and up-front with all of you. Nobody has disrespected Gordon's playing ability more than me. I keep doubting him, and then he continues to go out there and prove me wrong. So I'm kind of hesitant to put this out there, because it seems like we have a great thing going, and maybe I should just continue to doubt him. But I do want to give him his due, even though Rivers, and also are in the running here. I'm just thinking a career year could be in the offing for the two-time selectee. 2019 breakout star (offense): , WR. I really loved the ' decision to draft Williams seventh overall in 2017. I mean, I might have gone with (who went to the one pick later), but still, I loved that the added another offensive playmaker to the mix. Matt Duchene Kids Jersey Williams showed plenty of promise for stretches last season. And, as mentioned, he came up huge against the in . He's ready to make the leap this year and become an even bigger force for the . 2019 breakout star (defense): , CB. Am I alone in thinking he should have made the last year? Let's take a moment to recognize just how well the have drafted in recent years. It's been . King was a steal in the fifth round of the '17 draft. Another new face to know: , S. Speaking of steals, the got one when inexplicably fell to them with the 17th pick in last year's draft. Seriously, how did a top-five talent manage to land in Los Angeles like that? James made the as a rookie, as he should have. And I don't want to put these kinds of expectations on Adderley, but he's pretty great, too. He was the only FCS player with at least 160 tackles and nine interceptions over the past two seasons. The second-rounder is ready to step in and deliver. (And if you're wondering, yes, he's related to DB Herb Adderley -- they're cousins. It was my first question, too.) The 2019 roadmap The competitive urgency index is: HIGH. The are one of the best teams in the NFL. They have one of the most complete rosters in the league. The defense is stellar. And, of course, the offense is also one of the best. There is really nothing stopping them. Except maybe themselves. Will the be able to ... Beat the ? I know some people might immediately think, "Hey, don't they need to beat the first?" Uh, the . In Kansas City. Late in the year. If I'm a fan, I'm not worried about the all that much. But at some point, you need to come through against the . I really thought they had a chance going to New England in the Divisional Round last year, but all of that travel (they played four of their last five games on the road, including the postseason) really caught up to them. And Bill Belichick. Trust their offensive line? The O-line played pretty well for most of the season, but there were some glitches, especially in the playoffs, when the exploited right tackle . He allowed 41 hurries, 12 hits and eight sacks during his 483 pa s-blocking snaps last season, . His 92.9 pa s-pro rating was the third-worst in the league, behind the ' and ' . The drafted in the third round this year, but the Sioux Falls product is considered more of a project, so you have to wonder if the position will be an i sue again in 2019. Replace ? You have and forming one of the best receiving tandems in the NFL. But the depth at the position took a hit with ' departure for Oakland. Who is going to be the slot guy for the ? Somebody who could really help in this department would be a fully healthy TE . That's right, people. Henry is back after tearing his ACL in OTAs last year (well, he actually returned for the ' final game last season) and should be one of the best at his position. He was certainly trending that way before his injury. Three key dates: -- . The more I do this, the more I use Week 1 as a key date. But this game against the is going to be huge, so much so that I'm probably going to attend this contest. These are two of the biggest threats to the in the AFC this year. The can't afford any mi steps early, and this game could end up having ramifications that are felt late in the year when it comes to playoff seeding. -- . We previously mentioned the ' stunning at Pittsburgh last year. The are one of those teams that could be threatening to compete this season. The could deal them a setback. -- . Look out! The Rank household will be a house divided (my wife is a fan). And I know we always say this for AFC-NFC matchups, but this could be a preview. Like, legitimately! One storyline people are overlooking:The have been pretty great since they started 0-4 in 2017. The ' return to Los Angeles in 2017 had a rough beginning. The team dropped its first four games, each in excruciating fashion. There were mi sed kicks. Mental errors. And just about everything that could go wrong did go wrong. But the are 21-7 since that time. Only the (22-6) have been better over that stretch among AFC teams. One storyline people are overthinking:Yes, the have fans. I'm a little tired of the joke. I can confirm as somebody living in the Los Angeles area -- there are fans. A lot of them. My wife being one of them. They have the best Twitter account of all the NFL teams, . Their 2019 party on the Santa Monica pier was the social event of the season. I almost feel like I'm going to have to work overtime to keep my kids from shifting their allegiance from the to the Bolts. And another thing: I mentioned the in the draft, non-quarterback division. The have absolutely it, though. Especially in the first round. Here are the ' first-round picks since 2012: , , , , , , and . We'll just a sume Tillery is going to be a er. Aside from Verrett, who was knocked from his course by injuries, the lone mi s was Fluker in 2013 (and even he's been a starter every year of his career) -- and the nabbed in that draft, so it all worked out. Has there been a team that has drafted better than the in recent years? For 2019 to be a succe sful season, the Chargers MUST ... -- Win the .It seems almost unfair to put this kind of expectation on a team that has never won a and whose lone title is the AFL Championship it won in 1963. But I'm not going to sell the talent on this team short. There are a handful of squads that could be considered legit threats. The are one of them. In closing I consider the the top team in the AFC West right now. The are exciting, thanks to . But the are the best overall team. Their 2018 season ended a little earlier than you would have hoped (obviously). But the team (and coach Lynn) gained some valuable experience. This seems like it's been a long and Tyler Ennis Kids Jersey winding road for the . It's like they are the NFL's version of . But this also feels like it should be the year when they finally put it all together. Maybe 2019 will be when they stop being the groomsman and actually become the groom. This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be mi sing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an i sue.
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