Before the season started I had four American Football Conference teams that I thought had the best chance of winning Super Bowl LX. Two of them meet this Sunday in Baltimore and it is not going well for either of them. The Ravens host the Houston Texans, and the two teams come into action with one and three records.
The other two teams I thought had the best chance in the AFC are doing quite well, the Buffalo Bills are undefeated and the Los Angeles Chargers lost their first game of the season last Sunday to the New York Giants.
Wait a minute, how good can the Chargers be if they lose to a very suspect Giants squad that started a rookie at quarterback?
Most teams, no matter how good they are and what their prospects turn out to be, will have a game or two where they come up paupers. In 1994, the San Francisco 49ers won the Super Bowl in convincing fashion, 49-26, over the San Diego Chargers. They lost only three games that season, but in fifth week action as a nine-point home favorite they got rolled by the Philadelphia Eagles, 40-8. The only other game they lost that season after that Week Five surprise setback was a meaningless last day of the season loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
What happened to the eventual Super Bowl Champions against the Eagles served to focus the team at a higher level for the rest of the season. San Francisco was not relying on talent alone to carry their season, but added the “Money off my back,” mentality that their quarterback, Steve Young, celebrated on the sidelines near the end of their lopsided win in Super Bowl XXIX.
The Charges loss last week at MetLife Stadium could serve the same purpose for a Jim Harbaugh coach squad that seems to have it all.
Yes, they suffered a key injury early in August when one of the best offensive linemen in the game was knocked out for the season. But the Chargers loss of Rashawn Slater can also serve to focus the team on what they need to overcome … which provides a spike in motivation.
This week, the Chargers bounce off that loss on the east coast with a west coast battle against the Washington Commanders. Dan Quinn’s team also suffered a setback last week, their second of the season, when they were outplayed by the Atlanta Falcons on the road. It was the second straight game the Commanders were led by quarterback Marcus Mariota while their star quarterback, Jayden Daniels, was sidelined with a knee sprain.
This week, he will be back behind center and his return sets up one of the best quarterback battles of the week, Daniels versus Justin Herbert.
While I had projected good things for the Chargers this year, I did not expect the Commanders to follow up their breakout 2024 season with another winning campaign this season. The combination of a sophomore quarterback and a team that rose from the cellar to the playoffs and two postseason wins including a victory over the top seed Detroit Lions creates a situation where expectations are ahead of actual talent.
Both teams are coming off losses that meet at SoFi Stadium on Sunday. But the Chargers are looking to rebound from their surprise loss against New York, and the Commanders think all they needed was to get Daniels back behind center.
This is the Chargers year, not the Commanders, and that makes Sunday a home team winner.
Qoxhi Picks: Los Angeles Chargers (-3) over Washington Commanders