Good Afternoon Chargers nation. How are we feeling today? The sour taste of defeat is always something a team never would like to have in their mouths. If you’re the Chargers however Caleb Sturgis Jersey , losing the Kansas City Chiefs is just a consistent gut punch to the stomach. It’s nine punches right to your abdomen, each one making your feel weaker than the last one. Nine straight match ups have come and gone over the past five seasons to where the Bolts offense has been unable to best the Chiefs. In fact, that might one of the biggest downfalls of young Chargers general manager Tom Telesco’s career. Since taking over as the man in charge, Telesco has gone 2-9, with one of his wins coming in an overtime 36-yard field goal from Nick Novak. Sure, that kick secure the Bolts their first playoff appearance since 2009, but even the most loyal of Chargers fans have got to be getting a little antsy and aggravated at seeing the boys of in red completely demolish their boys year in and year out. A 38-28 loss to open the season is tough. Mainly due to the fact that many around the league believed that this could be the Chargers season. Yes, we get it angry Chargers fans who will be commenting later, they say that every season. Still, with a revamped offensive line, a strong growing defensive unit and the undeniable talent that is quarterback Philip Rivers, this really should be the first time that people can say ‘this is the Chargers season’ and mean it. But let’s stop making excuses and stick to the facts. The lackluster offensive performance along with a poor rush allowed the Chiefs to take away a much needed season-opening win from the Bolts. Still, there was plenty to appreciate from the game from and even more to look back and fix for the future. Here’s some of the biggest takeaways from Sunday’s action.Bet on the Young Talent The Chargers overall performance was filled with poor playing calling and even worse execution on both sides of the ball. That being said, the youthful movement from the past several draft classes was on full display and boy, did it not disappoint. As written in a column earlier this morning, safety Derwin James is a rising star, making plays in both the running game and pass coverage. His top level speed helped save a touchdown against Chiefs receiver DeAnthony Thomas while he also recorded the only sack of afternoon. Fellow rookie linebacker Kyzir White impressed out on the field as well. Leading the Chargers defense with six total tackles and three solo stops Cheap Melvin Ingram Jersey , White looked good in space and really only missed one key play in the open field against Chiefs wide reciever Tyreek Hill. Second-year wide receiver Mike Williams showed fans why the Chargers drafted him seventh overall last season with five receptions for 81 yards. Meanwhile, second-year running back Austin Ekeler looked to possibly cause some drama in the Bolts backfield following his 126 total yards of offense along with solo touchdown. The Bolts need to get offensive guard Forrest Lamp and defensive end Joey Bosa healthy but overall, Telesco’s young talent has much to hold their heads high about. The third receiver spot is still wide openOh Artavis Scott, how some of us miss you. Following his season-ending ankle surgery, the Chargers are still in the midst of finding a consistent third receiver for the offense. With the losses of Scott, tight end Hunter Henry and the decline of legendary Charger Antonio Gates, Telesco might want to be getting on the phone to see who is available for the right price. When looking back at Rivers stat line, the 36-year old quarterback went 34 of 51. In reality, of the () passes missed, nearly 15 of them were drops. Chargers receivers Tyrell Williams and Travis Benjamin combined for three total catches on 10 targets for nine yards and a touchdown. While Williams was able to score, that’s not enough to take away from the poor overall performance he displayed against one of the more questionable secondaries in the league. When looking back at the film, hopefully receivers coach Phil McGeoghan excuses Kennan Allen and the other Williams from the room. They shouldn’t have to hear the verbal beat down that should be coming to the rest of the receiver room. J.J Jones, three strikes and you’re out There’s always something good and something bad you can say about a player’s performance. They may make a great tackle than miss one in the open field later. They could make an unbelievable catch before dropping an easy snag near the end zone. Then there’s J.J. Jones, who could not have had a worse outing if you yourself wrote it.Jones was irrelevant with the offense, collecting zero receptions on zero targets. From there, things only spiraled downward. Averaging just 18 yards per kick return and -4 yards on punts, Jones offered little to no success on the Chargers special teams unit. Then the icing on the cake; two fumbles that would lead to a turnover and eventual score from the Chiefs offense. If Jones’s role was limited to being a special teams contributor Cheap Jahleel Addae Jersey , he might not be around longer. Everyone can have a bad game finding open space but two fumbles? Sorry, no second chances. The Chiefs offense is legitAs much as it might pain for everyone to hear; this Chiefs team might have gotten better. Sure, while the defensive woes in the secondary might be a problem to begin the season, the offensive production that quarterback Patrick Mahomes displayed on Sunday afternoon were legitimate. Many believed that the second-year quarterback could stumble out of the gate to truly begin his NFL career. He soared instead, leaving the Chargers defense and special teams in questions for the future. Having a consistent rhythm under center, Mahomes was able to go 15 of 27 for 256 yards and four touchdowns. Sure, it helps to have one of the league’s fastest receivers in Hill as your go-to option, but with an inability to have a consistent pass rush to make him flustered is a flat out problem. The Chiefs offensive line is a strong group but with players such as Eric Fisher and Cameron Erving only allowing combined one sack? That speaks dividends on the Chargers pass rush moving forward. The Oakland Raiders are still wondering how the Chicago Bears convinced them to give up outside linebacker Khalil Mack along with a second-round pick while Denver nearly lost a close one to the Seattle Seahawks. This Chiefs unit is no joke moving forward and if the Chargers can establish a pass rush, they might be adding more wins to that nine streak column.Chargers’ 2018 Schedule Prediction: Part 4 Current record after 13 weeks: 10-212/9 Week 14 Vs. Cincinnati Bengals This game looks a lot easier on paper than it ends up being once I really think about it.Looking at the Bengals’ offense, there are the obvious studs in WR AJ Green and RB Joe Mixon. QB Andy Dalton isn’t too shabby when the offense is clicking, either, and TE Tyler Eifert used to be one of the best before his injuries started to pile up.However, it is their defense that gives me the most pause. They have one of the best defensive line units in all of football with the likes of DT Geno Atkins, DE Carlos Dunlap, and up-and-coming second-year edge rushers, Carl Lawson and Jordan Willis.Add in young defensive back William Jackson with veterans Darqueze Dennard and Dre Kirkpatrick and you have yourself a defense that the Bolts cannot risk underestimating.Former first-round WR John Ross looks to finally be coming into his own and this spells potential danger if the Chargers aren’t able to stay on top of him. This is roughly in the same vein as when they play the Chiefs and they have to worry about WR Tyreek Hill. Both Ross and Hill are two of the fastest players in the NFL, with the former having set the 40-yard dash record at the 2017 NFL Combine.This game has one of the largest chances of being a trap game if the Chargers don’t show up like they should this late in the season. The Bengals possess strength at a lot of important positions and that cannot be overlooked. If the Bolts haven’t been hit with the injury bug by this point Cheap Denzel Perryman Jersey , this is a game they should win at home.2018 Record: 11-212/13 Week 15 @ Kansas City ChiefsIn week one’s contest, the Chargers came away with its’ first victory against the Chiefs in over four years. I noted that a win at home over KC would really start the year off on a high-note and really set the tone for the season. In their second match-up of the season, I don’t believe it goes the way of the Bolts again.Andy Reid is a phenomenal coach and I fully expect him to fix whatever problems burdened the Chiefs in week one. Patrick Mahomes should be a much better quarterback at this point in the season and I just can’t get behind the idea of the Chargers sweeping the Chiefs after not winning a game in the four seasons prior.We also cannot forget how the injury bug rears its’ ugly, ugly head at least once before the season is over. Last year, it was, coincidentally, the second match-up against the Chiefs where it struck, knocking out tight end Hunter Henry and a number of other players before the clock hit zero.I believe Reid works his magic and pulls out a victory at home to even the season series between these two teams.2018 record: 11-312/23 vs. Baltimore RavensThe Baltimore Ravens have been known for two things over the last few seasons:1.) An underrated defense that can cause numerous turnoversand2.) An inept passing game led by Joe Flacco.If you watched any of Baltimore’s games last year, you will have likely noticed that almost all of their wins coincided with the defense playing extremely well. Defensive backs Jimmy Smith, Marlon Humphrey, Tony Jefferson, and former Chargers safety Eric Weddle combine to make one of the best secondaries in the league.Their front seven includes a number of formidable players, as well, in DT Michael Pierce, DT Brandon Williams, LB C.J. Mosley, and the ageless-wonder OLB Terrell Suggs.They’ve also been one of the best run defenses in the league and that could lead to problems for the Chargers if they are unable to get anything going on the ground.Like everybody else Tyrell Williams Jersey , I am totally here for an Eric Weddle revenge game. If you told me after the game that Weddle snagged two interceptions and smacked Rivers on the behind after both of them, I wouldn’t second-guess a thing.I think the mistake-prone Chargers finally start to regress here after a stellar season up to this point and lose their second in a row.2018 record: 11-412/30 @ Denver BroncosFor the third-straight year, the Chargers end the season facing one of their divisional rivals. Two years ago, it was the Chiefs in their last game within the confines of Qualcomm Stadium. Last year, the Bolts won comfortably against the Raiders. This year, the Chargers travel to Mile High to take on the Broncos out in Orange Crush country.A number of things could have happened between this game and the last. Keenum could be on a tear, half the ACLs on the Chargers could have spontaneously imploded, or anything in-between.The defense will likely be much-improved in 2018 so i’ll give the Broncos some leeway at home. This will be as tough as any of the other AFC West match-ups throughout the year and I believe this second contest between the two will be closer than the last as these two teams could both be playing for a spot in the playoffs (Chargers for the division crown, Broncos for a wild card spot).I predict the score of this game to be around 17-14 with the the Chargers narrowly escaping and punching their ticket to their first playoff-berth since 2013.2018 record: 12-4So there you have it, the entire slate of games picked.And I promise, I tried to be as realistic as possible without being a “homer”.A lot of these match-ups just looked great on paper and I’m well aware of all the crazy things that will likely go one throughout the season that cannot be foreseen in anyway. If the Chargers stay healthy and avoid any meltdowns a la 2016, they have a real shot at the record I predicted. But I wouldn’t be surprised to find them losing at least one or two more games. For the life of me, I just couldn’t pull the trigger on any other games to be losses.What do you guys think? Were there any games I predicted to be wins that you see as losses, and vice versa? Let’s talk about it.
