Jim Harbaugh's Chargers are struggling, yet alive in playoff race

Chris Roling | 3 Hours Ago

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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Los Angeles Chargers

Jim Harbaugh and the Los Angeles Chargers don’t want to be 3-3 after that messy loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

But they're certainly not out of the playoff running in the wild AFC, either.

Entering Week 8, the Chargers sit with the No. 8 seed, just behind the 4-3 Denver Broncos, a team they happen to hold a tiebreak over after beating Sean Payton and Co. in Week 6 (the rematch is Week 16).

The next few weeks, though, could decide the season.

Starting in Week 8, the Chargers play New Orleans, Cleveland, Tennessee, Cincinnati and Baltimore. That’s four AFC teams and just one opponent with a winning record. That will set the table for a season-ending stretch in which the Chargers play three AFC West teams over their final five games while already boasting a 2-1 record in the division.

Which is to say, the Chargers are very much alive, even if it doesn’t feel like it coming out of that sloppy 17-15 loss to the Arizona Cardinals in primetime.