Denver Broncos
2022 Record: 5-12 (4th in AFC West)
Head Coach: Sean Payton (1st season)
Notable Additions: T Mike McGlinchey, DE Zach Allen, G Ben Powers
Notable Departures: DE Dre'mont Jones, RB Latavius Murray, K Brandon McManus
Biggest Reason for Excitement: The 2022 Season is Over
Safe to say, things didn't go as planned with the Broncos in 2022. What was initially viewed as a golden opportunity to end their playoff drought that has been in place since they won the Super Bowl in 2015 and return to being a contending team quickly turned into a downright ugly season where almost nothing went right.
New quarterback Russell Wilson looked like a shell of his former self as he struggled with accuracy-especially downfield (his 60.5 CMP% was a new career-low and a full 4% lower than his career average), displayed shaky decisionmaking (11 INT's in 15 games-which marks only the 2nd time in the past 5 seasons and 5th time in 11 NFL seasons that he's thrown double digit picks) and had a ton of trouble of finding the endzone (19 total TD's, which is 8 less than the new career-low he had set in 2021). Wilson's poor play, a shaky offensive line, an ineffective running back committee that only got worse after Javonte Williams tore his ACL, LCL and the posterolateral corner in his knee in early October and horrendous playcalling proved to be the recipe for the worst scoring offense in the league as they averaged a paltry 16.9 PTS per game (they did fair a bit better in yardage as they ranked 19th in passing, 21st in rushing and 21st in total YDS). A combination of poor clock management, terrible execution and good old fashioned choking caused them to go 4-10 in 1-score games including a whopping 0-3 in OT. 1st (and likely, last time) head coach Nathaniel Hackett was so bad at managing games that someone in the front office had to coerce Jerry Rosburg-who hadn't coached since 2018-out of retirement to handle timeouts, whether or not to go for it on 4th down or kick/punt, etc. Hackett wasn't even able to make to the end of the season due to a combination of ineptitude and the locker room turning on him. And perhaps most impressively, they went 3-11 after starting the season 2-1. Just really horrendous stuff all-around.
The good news for everybody in The Mile High City is that this nightmarish book has closed and they can look forward to a new season with a new coach in Sean Payton, somewhat retooled roster and restored sense of optimism for the future (or at least the piece of mind that things likely won't be as bad as they were in 2022 again).
Biggest Reason for Concern: Sean Payton's Attitude
Defector writer Drew Magary tweeted out something a few weeks back that made me have an epiphany. The tweet in question-which was referring to Sean Payton's now infamous ban of players wearing "Gilligan" hats on the sideline during preseason games- read as follows: "I know this is an overstatement, but there's been a strong whiff of Urban Meyer coming out of Denver for the past month". I couldn't agree more. Payton has been peacocking around Denver like he's introducing the concept of winning to his players. In addition to the whole "NO FUCKING GILIGAN HATS ON MY WATCH" lecture, he did an interview with USA Today where he basically called Hackett a disgrace to coaching, gloated about firing Russell Wilson's personal throwing coach and tearing down the separate office he had in the facility and jerked himself off over what he accomplished with the Saints. Has nobody told Payton that Wilson also 1 won Super Bowl and unlike him, has appeared in another once since?
Nobody would argue that Hackett did a good job last year, was well-respected in the locker room, or even that he doesn't deserved to get harshly criticized, but why the fuck would this team-which largely consists of the same guys-buy into Payton's system after hearing what he said in this interview? He's basically told these guys that they aren't shit and he's fucking awesome whenever he's spoken publicly since he got hired! Bill Belichick is the only head coach in the league that has the amount of hardware required to get away with being so openly smug and arrogant and even he's dialed it back a bit of late due to how the team has performed post-Tom Brady.
Here's the harsh truth about Payton: He's a guy that's been coasting off a single run that came at a time where the people of New Orleans needed things to smile about as they were rebuilding from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina for almost 15 years now. Aside from that 2009 season, his time in New Orleans should be defined by being a good regular season coach that shit his pants in the playoffs time and time again alongside his future Hall of Fame QB Drew Brees (his playoff record post Super Bowl is 5-7 and he's also never won multiple games in the same postseason during the stretch). Not to mention, the guy quit on the Saints after spending 1 fucking season without Brees. What the hell does that say about his character and true coaching ability when he can't win at a high level despite being a self-proclaimed offensive guru then immediately walks away because he views trying to win with an "average QB" (Jameis Winston) as too hard of a challenge? Payton better put his money where his mouth is and dramatically turn this team around right away or he'll run the risk of tarnishing his glowing reputation or maybe even become a laughing stock in Denver just like that fucking rube Nathaniel Hackett.
Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: A Resurgent Comeback Season from Russell Wilson
Wilson's legacy beyond his time with the Seahawks and Payton's tenure in Denver will be defined by how he fares this season. The signs of decline appear to have been there for Wilson in back-to-back seasons as a decade of getting assaulted behind terrible offensive lines (this is a problem that followed him to Denver as he got sacked a career-high 55 times in just 15 games) seem to be causing his body to break down. He's sustained injuries that caused him to miss time in back-to-back seasons (a broken finger in 2021, throwing shoulder ailment last year) after not missing a single start from 2012-2020 and his zip on the ball and poise under center just wasn't was it used to be. Considering his smaller stature and age (he'll be 35 in November), it's entirely possible that his best days are behind him.
What will it take for Wilson to get back to his old self? Simple: Re-establish the running game, allow him to make plays on the move and put him in situations where he can make quick throws to regain his shaken confidence and accuracy. Whether this is attainable with the Broncos current personnel remains up in the air. The additions of Ben Powers and Mike McGlinchey in free agency could conceivably improve the offensive line enough to prevent Wilson from getting killed or rushing throws to prevent himself from getting killed and the return of Williams at running back could be a godsend if he returns to the NOS-powered bulldozer he was as a rookie in 2021, but the loss of Jerry Jeudy-who is easily the most versatile receiver they have-for at least the first couple games of the year with a hamstring injury and both K.J. Hamler and Tim Patrick for the year is the sort of hiccup this group doesn't need in the passing game right now. Even vintage Wilson wasn't the type of quarterback that Payton was accustomed to working too, but he's going to have to try and find a way to build an offense around what Wilson can do at this point of his career in order to make this arranged marriage work on any sort of level.
Bottom Line:
Despite the arrival of Sean Payton and some relatively splashy free agent pickups, I still believe the Broncos are well behind most of the other teams in the AFC and will only finish above 3rd place in the division if the Chargers really Charger it up this year and/or the Chiefs experience a Space Jam-esque situation where aliens drain all their talent to try and beat the Looney Tunes in a football game.
Kansas City Chiefs
2022 Record: 14-3 (1st in AFC West)
Head Coach: Andy Reid (11th season)
Notable Additions: T Jawaan Taylor, T Donovan Smith, ILB Drue Tranquill
Notable Departures: T Orlando Brown Jr., WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, S Juan Thornhill
Biggest Reason for Excitement: They're Still the Team to Beat
The most painful part of winning a Super Bowl is realizing that running it back with the same roster and coaching staff the next season is impossible. For the Chiefs, this meant losing starting left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., starting right tackle Andrew Wylie, starting wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, starting free safety Juan Thornhill and starting defensive tackle Khalen Saunders in free agency, cutting ties with Frank Clark after 5 mostly respectable seasons with the team and experiencing the unprecedented move of OC Eric Bieniemy leaving a winning situation to take the same position with the much less talented Commanders. After all the dust settled following a busy spring, the Chiefs still find themselves in the best position possible.
Patrick Mahomes is back under center and fully healthy heading into the season, Andy Reid is returning to the sideline for the 11st season in KC after reportedly briefly considering retirement after last season, Steve Spagnuolo was handed another toy to blitz with in Kansas City's own Felix Anduike-Uzomah-who racked up 20.5 sacks during his final 2 seasons at Kansas State and Bieniemy ironically got replaced as OC by the very man he replaced as OC in Matt Nagy. Really the only causes for concern right now are bringing in two new tackles in Donovan Smith and Jawaan Taylor to anchor the ends of their o-line after having a great collective unit over the past couple seasons and Chris Jones engaging in a holdout over his contract situation (more on that in a minute). Still, the gap between the Chiefs and everybody else is clear right now and it's going to take a number of key injuries or some sudden regression for them or some massive improvements from other teams to change that.
Biggest Reason for Concern: Chris Jones' Ongoing Holdout
The talk of Chiefs training camp has been Jones' holdout. The 4x All-Pro is entering the final year of the 4 year/$80 mil/$60 mil guaranteed deal he signed in July 2020 after being handed the franchise tag that March and after living up to, if not outperforming that deal and entering his age-29 season, he wants to take advantage of his last chance to really cash out in the pros right now.
The question that I have for Brett Veach and Clark Hunt is what's stopping you from paying Jones? As silly as it may sound to the casual fan, Jones is unquestionably the Mahomes of their defense. Everything that they do well starts with Jones' ability to get after the quarterback, disrupt plays in the backfield and just generally be a wrecking ball that opposing offenses need to focus a ton of their energy on. On top of that, he's coming off a career year where he logged 15.5 sacks, 17 TFL's, 77 QB pressures and finished in 2nd place in Defensive Player of the Year voting. The fact that they've let this issue hang over their heads for over a month now is quite frankly staggering and it's opening up the door for the organization to be taught some uncomfortable lessons about Jones' value to this team as they stare down the barrell of him sitting out for the beginning of the season.
Thinking about the composition of this defense without Jones is pretty frightening. Before getting into the broader implications of his absence, just take a gander at the rest of the defensive tackle group. With the aforementioned exit of Saunders in free agency, their non-Jones depth chart on the interior is topped by Derrick Nnadi-who has 4 career sacks in 5 seasons with the Chiefs, 4th year pro Tershawn Wharton-who has 5 career sacks and is coming off an ACL tear and rookie Keondre Coburn-who was selected in the 6th round. Barring Coburn proving to be a late-round steal, this group seems like a long shot to be adequate, let alone effective. Veach doesn't seem to have much confidence in them either since he went out and swung a trade with the rival Raiders for 2nd year player Neil Farrell on Tuesday afternoon. If you're panicked about defensive tackle without Jones, why not call up him or his agent and work out the terms for the new deal. This shit does not need to be happening right now!
As for the broader team, there's a ton of things that have to be considered when looking at the defense without Jones. Can their young defensive back group of L'Jarius Sneed, Trent McDuffie, Jaylen Watson, Bryan Cook and Justin Reid hold up to the increased action they'd get from the quarterbacks have cleaner pockets to work? Are George Karlaftis, Mike Danna and Amudike-Uzmoah good enough to serve as the engines of a pass-rush? Will Nick Bolton, Willie Gay, Leo Chenal and newcomer Drue Tranquill be able to stop the run as well they have in the past now that their paths to the backfield are smaller and more congested? You can't just remove a player with Jones' impact from the field and expect it to be as business as usual out there. Whether it's for a week or a month and a half, Jones' absence will be deeply felt out there and the shot callers on this team will pay for their refusal to give him a new deal.
Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: Having Another Playmaker Emerge in the Passing Game Alongside Travis Kelce
2022 was the brightest Travis Kelce has ever shined as a pro as he posted an insane 110 REC/1,338 YD/12 TD line (the reception and TD totals marked career highs) in the 1st season since 2015 where he wasn't playing alongside Tyreek Hill. While no one replicated the constant home run-hitting threat of Hill, Kelce was aided in the passing game by a resurgent JuJu Smith-Schuster, new splash play specialist Marquez Valdes-Scantling and later in the season, Jerick McKinnon and trade deadline acquisition Kadarious Toney. With Smith-Schuster leaving for the Patriots in free agency and the oft-injured speedster Mecole Hardman also not being retained, the Chiefs will once again have to figure out the hierarchy behind their star tight end.
Starting off with the easy stuff, McKinnon and Valdez-Scantling will continue to serve in their specialist roles. Both guys are too limited in what they can do to be top dogs (particularly Valdez-Scantling-whose route running and hands can be horrid at times), but they should get regular targets and make some visits to the endzone.
Skyy Moore is the most likely candidate to receive a significnat uptick in action in 2023 as he's set to take on the slot WR role that was vacated by Smith-Schuster. The 2nd year pro remains kind of an enigma given his limited snap count as a rookie, but he was able to make a handful of nice plays throughout the year that teased his potential. His route-running and shiftiness after the catch made him a huge asset at Western Michigan and if that translates to the pros, he could be in line for a breakout year.
The wild cards in this unsettled hierarchy are Toney and rookie Rashee Rice. In an ideal world, Toney would be a featured part of their offense as the 2021 1st round pick has the speed, YAC ability and versatility that Reid covets in his receivers. The problem is that the kid has yet to prove he can stay healthy in the league-appearing in only 19 games over 2 seasons and some injury issues have already popped up this year as he suffered a partial meniscus tear at the start of training camp, which puts his Week 1 availability into question.
Rice was the top beneficiary of Toney's absence as he got plenty of run with the 1's in practice as well as is in the preseason games. His contested catch ability, body control and physicality would provide the Chiefs with a different type of receiver than they've had recently, but as they showed last year with Moore, they're willing to let rookie WR's spend the bulk of their time sitting and learning. The brutal drops he had in live game action during the preseason-which were a huge issue for him in college-also could hurt his chances of seeing the field as a rookie.
Saying that there's pressure on this group to deliver would be a panicky overstatement considering how good Kelce continues to be. However, another receiver or two emerging as reliable playmakers would make Kelce's job easier and if that were happen, the 34-year old's run of dominance could end up getting extended due to not having to carry as much of the offensive load as expected.
Bottom Line:
Barring injury or some really bad luck, it would be stunning if the Chiefs weren't well-positioned to compete for their 3rd Super Bowl victory of the Reid/Mahomes-era come January.
Las Vegas Raiders
2022 Record: 6-11 (3rd in AFC West)
Head Coach: Josh McDaniels (2nd season)
Notable Additions: QB Jimmy Garoppolo, WR Jakobi Meyers, CB Marcus Peters
Notable Departures: QB Derek Carr, TE Darren Waller, CB Rock Ya-Sin
Biggest Reason for Excitement: Josh Jacobs Ending His Holdout and Returning to the Team
Taking a cue from the deal the Giants gave Saquon Barkley, the Raiders formally welcomed back to the fold last weekend when he inked a 1-year deal worth up to $12 million after being away from the team since getting the franchise tag in March. With Jimmy Garoppolo set to replace Derek Carr under center, Jacobs appears set to have a huge role in the offense that could possibly even see him exceed the massive 393-touch workload he received last season. If his impact can at least match that of 2022 where he ripped off 1,953 scrimmage YDS and 12 rushing TD's and ease Garoppolo's transition to the team, the Raiders could end up exceeding expectations this year.
Biggest Reason for Concern: That They Didn't Do Enough To Fix Their Pass Defense
When the Raiders turned in the 7th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, I figured there was no chance in hell it wasn't Christian Gonzalez. He was the consensus top-corner available and a top 5-10 prospect overall, they were coming off a season in which they had the 4th worst pass defense in the league and their best corner from 2022 (Rock Ya-Sin) had already left for the Ravens in free agency. It just made too much damn sense! A few minutes later, the pick was announced and as soon I heard "Tyree Wilson, defensive end, Texas Tech" come out of Rodger Goddell's mouth, I let out a stunned "WHAT!" in the direction of my television. Edge is the top position of strength for the Raiders on defense and as freakish as Wilson's raw skill set is, his presence on the Raiders won't move the needle for them in 2023.
Their ignoring of the DB position didn't stop at passing on Gonzalez. The Raiders made another 3 picks in rounds 2 and 3 before they finally drafted their lone corner in Maryland product Jakorian Bennett, who I quite frankly know nothing about besides that he wasn't a #1 corner in college (Giants 1st round pick Deonte Banks held that honor) and his 4.3 40 at the Combine turned some heads, but he is projected to start in Week 1, so that's something!
Their drafting approach served as an extension to their lackadaisical approach to free agency. After signing former Eagles safety Marcus Epps to a 2-year deal right out of the gate, they basically just dug around the couch cushions a week after free agency started and found guys like Duke Shelley-who didn't even make the final roster-and David Long to fill out their available roster spots. Hell, they didn't even bring in their biggest name/final projected starter (Marcus Peters) until right before camp started in July! Sure they had some cap issues to navigate after being saddled with all the dead money left on Derek Carr's deal, but that doesn't excuse their passiveness. Available corners like Patrick Peterson, Byron Murphy and Cameron Sutton weren't out here re-setting the corner market with their deals, the Raiders just chose to sit back and cheap out-which is actually a beautiful tribute to Josh McDaniels and Dave Zeigler's former bosses Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick.
This approach could very well end up costing them. Peters is a notoriously trick-or-treat player who is coming off a particularly painful season with the Ravens where he was getting his ass handed to him in coverage on a weekly basis, Epps was a so-so player in Philly who benefitted from being surrounded by high-end talent up front and alongside him in secondary and Long struggled to get on the field while he was with the Rams and when he did see action, it typically wasn't pretty.
With Nate Hobbs and Trevon Moherig regressing following their strong rookie seasons in 2021, there's not a single area of the secondary that can be counted onto deliver right now and in a division that is home to both Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert, that should scare the ever-loving shit out of the Raiders.
Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: Jimmy Garoppolo Staying Healthy
Jimmy Garoppolo's play has become kind of a punchline over the years since he's the dictionary definition of a competent game manager that won't cost or win you games. But the thing is that no matter how unsexy or vanilla his play is, he's done exactly what was asked of him with both the Patriots and 49ers and that's part of why he carries a 40-17 record as a starter heading into this season. Given his existing relationship with McDaniels from his days with the Patriots and a group of receivers in Davante Adams, Jakobi Meyers and Hunter Renfrow that are well-suited to play with a QB that gets the ball out quickly and efficiently and puts them in a good spot to make plays, Garoppolo should have no problem continuing to be his steady self in Vegas.
There is one huge risk that comes with employing Garoppolo as a starting quarterback as the 49ers learned all too well during his nearly 6 seasons there: He has a very hard time staying healthy. Excluding 2017-where he was traded from the Patriots on Halloween and didn't play until a month later, 2019 was the only season during his time with the 49ers where he started every game and 2021 was the only other one where he missed less than 3 with injury. The other 3 he ended the year on IR with a torn ACL, high ankle sprain and Lisfranc sprain respectively. As Garoppolo approaches his 32nd birthday in November, his odds of sustaining an injury that he doesn't bounce back from are only getting higher.
So what's the backup plan if Garoppolo gets hurt? Well, none other than another old buddy of McDaniels: Brian Hoyer! The nearly 38-year old is hot off his 3rd stint with the Patriots and his lone taste of game action last year against the Packers before he suffered a massive concussion that sidelined him and eventually caused him to lose the backup job to rookie Bailey Zappe was a pretty prudent reminder of why he wasn't given a chance to be a full-time starter again after being traded from San Francisco to New England in the deal involving the man he's currently backing up. Rookie Aidan O'Connell is also on the 53-man roster, but he's considered to be a project QB and it would be pretty surprising if he saw playing time in a non-emergency situation this year (although, a couple games with Hoyer under center could change that).
That shaky backup situation is precisely why Garoppolo remaining healthy has never been more imperative. This isn't San Francisco where Kyle Shanahan has about a 50/50 chance of turning anybody who started at quarterback for a D1 college into an acceptable pro signalcaller for 6-8 weeks at a time. McDaniels entrusted Garoppolo to be the clear starter here because he trusts him to run and excel in his system more than any other available QB would. That's a big gamble for McDaniels and Zeigler to make after a pretty horid debut season in Vegas last year, but it speaks volumes towards how much belief they have in Garoppolo's ability to turn the ship around. And who knows, if Garoppolo can do it, he might finally be viewed as more than a game manager by the masses.
Bottom Line:
2022 was another black eye for McDaniels as a head coach and with the fate of this year's team largely boiling down to Jimmy Garoppolo's health, Josh Jacobs' ability to repeat his monster 2022 campaign and the play of their defense that is largely unproven at best and straight-up foul at worst, this could be the last season he ever gets to be a head coach in the NFL.
Los Angeles Chargers
2022 Record: 10-7 (2nd in AFC West)
Head Coach: Brandon Staley (3rd season)
Notable Additions: ILB Eric Kendricks, DE Nick Williams
Notable Departures: ILB Drue Tranquill, S Nasir Adderley (retired), G Matt Feiler
Biggest Reason for Excitement: The Hiring of Kellen Moore as OC
Joe Lombardi's time with the Chargers came to an end 2 days after they lost to the Jaguars in the Wild Card Round. While his contributions to Justin Herbert's development during his 2 years as OC deserves some praise, his often overly conservative playcalling that caused Herbert to mostly throw short of the sticks regardless of the game situation and questionable usage of the small., shifty Austin Ekeler as an inside runner were detrimental enough to the operation that he had to get axed.
When it came to finding a replacement for Lombardi, Staley and the front office went in the complete opposite direction with the hiring of Kellen Moore. Ironically, the reason that Moore lost his job with the Cowboys is because Mike McCarthy felt he was too aggressive. No one in the Chargers building will be telling Moore anything like that. His willingness to push the ball down the field and utilize Herbert's special arm strength and the vertical talents of Mike Williams, rookie Quentin Johnston, Gerald Everett and Jalen Guyton-who will start on the PUP list as he continues to recover from the torn ACL he suffered last season-will actually be a welcome sight after 2 years where they didn't do that nearly often enough.
The most impressive thing about the Cowboys offenses under Moore wasn't their aggression or vertical ability, it was their balance. Moore was able to keep defenses on their toes by mixing the rush with the pass, deep shots with chain-moving plays and uptempo with ground-and-pound concepts, and it lead to units that ranked top 5 in scoring every year he was there except for 2020 when Dak Prescott went down with a broken ankle in October. Moore is precisely the modern NFL mind the Chargers offense needs to take the next step and imagining what he'll be able to do with somebody in Herbert that already has a 5,000-YD/38 TD season under his belt after considerably improving Prescott's output while he was in Dallas is incredibly exciting.
Biggest Reason for Concern: Brandon Staley is Still Around
Calling for Staley's head after 2 winning seasons and 1 playoff appearance isn't totally fair. However, the man's addiction to analytics continues to get in the way of the entire operation. He's overly aggressive when he doesn't need to be, kicks when he should be going for it and vice versa and worst of all, never takes accountability for his mistakes when the media asks him about them following a loss or narrow victory. On top of that, his X and O's have also failed as he is a defensive coach by trade (he still calls the defensive plays now) and yet often times when this team screw up, the defense taking their foot off the gas or making the wrong playcalls served as a key component of the collapse. His seat has to be scorching hot after what transpired in Jacksonville in January and if his decisionmaking continue to get in the way of things in year #3, he'll most likely be seeking employment elsewhere in 2024.
Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: Change Who They Are
Do you know how bad your history as a team has to be to be up 27-0 in the final minutes of the 1st half of a playoff game and nobody watching is confident that they'll ultimately win the game? Well, that's exactly the kind of perpetually soul-crushing operation the Chargers have been running out in Southern California since 1960 and when the slow motion car crash that was their 2nd half performance came to an end, they went home with a 31-30 loss to the Jaguars. Let's be clear: the Jaguars didn't do anything impressive to get themselves back in the game, they just didn't pack it in when they were down by 27 and the Chargers did the rest for them.
It doesn't matter whose coaching the team or whose playing for them, losing in the most painful ways imaginable or having the entire team get injured to ensure that the team has a justifiable reason why they didn't have the opportunity to lose in the most painful way imaginable is the Charger Way. It's why no one was shocked when Dan Fouts and co. got steamrolled by the 49ers in Super Bowl XXIX, Marty Schottenheimer went 0-2 in the playoffs with teams led by Philip Rivers, LaDanian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates or the aforementioned collapse last year. It's just what everybody knows the Chargers to be and there's no reason to believe that things will ever change.
If you're the kind of optimistic individual that doesn't believe in curses or institutional suckiness in sports, this Charger team is qualified as any to put a stop to this horrific tradition. Justin Herbert is already a top 10 QB in the league and has the potential to elevate into top 3-5 within the next few years, and be the best quarterback to ever put a Chargers uniform on when it's all said and done, their arsenal of offensive weapons (Ekeler, Keenan Allen,Williams, Everett, Joshua Palmer, Johnston) is very good, if not borderline elite when healthy, the offensive line is in a good position to bounce back after an up-and-down 2022 now that Rashawn Slater is back at left tackle and Jamaree Salyer-who fared pretty well as Slater's primary replacement for most of his rookie season in 2022-is kicking inside to his natural position of guard and while far from perfect, their defense has enough talent (Joey Bosa, Khlil Mack, Derwin James, Asante Samuel Jr., Michael Davis, Morgan Fox, newcomer Eric Kendricks) throughout its ranks to be good enough to go on a run. They just need to find a way to show up when it matters and not succumb to their inner Chargers. I don't know how they're going to do it or if it's even possible, but that's the only way they're ever going to live up to their vast potential.
Bottom Line:
Stop me if you heard this before about a Chargers team but they're a deeply talented group that will have to overcome their own bad luck, stupidity and engrained culture of losing in order to live up to their potential.
Predicted Standings:
1.Kansas City Chiefs (13-4)
2.Los Angeles Chargers (10-7)
3.Denver Broncos (6-11)
4.Las Vegas Raiders (4-13)
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