I do believe that is what a championship team looks like.
Two weeks into the 2025 season a few things have crystalized. The Chicago Bears are not yet ready to compete with the three teams that are better than them in the NFC North Division. The Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens are both very good and the Kansas City Chiefs have only a quarterback to hang their hopes on.
But, for my money, through two weeks, I think the teams likely to meet next February at Levi’s Stadium to crown the Super Bowl LX winner are the Philadelphia Eagles and, wait for it, the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Chargers?
Not the Bills or Ravens?
Well, I could say the Bills or Ravens but so could anybody in the corner stool in a bar. Yes, when the two opened the season against each other and the Bills came from behind to eke out a one point win, 41-40, we witnessed a battle between two great teams with quarterbacks that will be inducted into the Hall of Fame five years after they retire.
But while they will grab the headlines, I’ve always been attracted to the teams that have something to overcome to win it all in the end. A team that is not flashy as much as efficient. A team that has a coach and quarterback that work together in harmony.
On Monday night, the Chargers suffocated the Las Vegas Raiders offense on the loser's home field. Limiting Geno Smith and his Silver and Black to three field goals while grinding out an 11-point win, 20-9. It is that kind of team, that kind of methodical downing of an opponent that I find most intriguing and worth considering for a Super Bowl berth.
This week, the Chargers host the Denver Broncos. Having already beaten their other two AFC West opponents, a victory for the home team here would give them a major leg up in their division race. From a purely motivational perspective, this would bend towards the Broncos catching the Chargers in the standings with a second victory as opposed to falling two games back.
While we see that side of the equation, we have another factor to consider. The Chargers are not so outwardly dominant that they can assume a home victory over a respected division opponent … and they have a couple key injuries to overcome.
First, early in camp, the Chargers lost one of the best offensive linemen in the game, left tackle Rashawn Slater. The left tackle position is considered the most important on the most important unit on the field, the offensive line. That is because the left tackle protects his quarterback from the blindside for a right-handed signal caller. And, for clarification, Los Angeles Quarterback Justin Herbert is right-handed.
What the Chargers were able to do during training camp, given how early in August Slater was injured, was to have time to work talented Joe Alt into the left tackle position. Alt was the Chargers first pick in the 2024 draft, fifth overall player taken, and a capable replacement. Slater is still a huge setback, but the Chargers have compensated for him being sidelined and now have the added motivation to overcome his loss.
In Monday night’s game, their victory over the Raiders, the Chargers lost the services of one of their best defensive players, linebacker Khalil Mack. He will be out for at least a month and now the Chargers need to work this week with the realization that they have to up their game to compensate for his loss.
In other words, the Chargers aren’t looking past the Broncos like it is an easy win … but it may well prove to be.
In his third season with the Broncos Sean Payton thought he might have the team to go all the way this year. Last season, after a horrible first year in the Mile High City, Payton found his quarterback of the future with Bo Nix. The rookie QB replaced the departed veteran who had a pair of disappointing campaigns in Denver, Russell Wilson, and breathed life into the Broncos attack.
Behind Nix, the Broncos earned a playoff spot which resulted in a lopsided loss in the Wild Card round to the playoff savvy Bills, 31-7. While hopes were high in Denver for the 2025 season, my numbers indicate a drop for the Broncos this season. A rapid rise for a team inexperienced at winning most often takes a dip the following year … for the Broncos, that would be this year.
Denver struggled in a win over the talent-challenged Tennessee Titans in their home opener and lost last week at Indianapolis on a last second field goal. In both those games, it can be seen that Nix has been as much of a problem as the answer. He tossed a pair of interceptions that kept the opening win closer than it could have been and threw an ill-advised pass last Sunday that the Colts intercepted to spark their win.
Here is the deal. The Chargers are better than either the Titans or Colts and they are playing like a championship team, grinding out victories without the apparent need to blow away their opponents. But sometimes, blowing away an opponent just comes naturally, and I think that is what is going to happen this week when the Broncos come calling.
Qoxhi Picks: Los Angeles Chargers (-3) over Denver Broncos