Chargers Division Cracks Top Half in Rankings, Criticism Lingers From Analyst

Could this finally be the year?

Always showing promise but also coming up short, this year is an important one for the LA Chargers, with their key competition in the Kansas City Chiefs looking weaker than in previous years. 

Though hopes remain high that the Bolts can overtake the reigning Super Bowl champs, doubt still remains from pundits in the NFL landscape. 

If there's an on-paper team that looks good enough to challenge Kansas City, it is the loaded Chargers, who rank fourth on offense (3.3) and right there with the Chiefs on defense (minus-0.2), according to FPI. Of course, they are the annual on-paper champs. Something always seems to go wrong there. But this is a summer exercise, looking at rosters and projecting what they're capable of, and L.A. has stars all over the field.

via Dan Graziano, ESPN.com

Losing both Frank Clark and Juju Smith-Schuster to their pass rush and their receiving core, respectively, the Chiefs will need to pick up the pieces with perhaps their weakest roster in the Mahomes era. 

It's worth mentioning that since Mahomes has been the starter in Kansas City, the team's lowest seasonal finish has been hosting the AFC title game for five years straight. 

LA boasts an impressive young signal caller of their own, extending Justin Herbert to a five-year extension in a display of faith in his abilities to lead them to the top. 

Talent litters the Bolts' roster in all facets, with stars at all levels of both the offense and defense. 

What always seems to be missing from the Chargers' seasons are consistency and the ability to finish games against teams they should beat. 

For one reason or another, the squad has a pension for blowing leads and crumbling when the pressure is on, but the LA is eager to finally beat their divisional rivals and stake their claim atop the AFC West.