Chargers Clinch First Playoff Berth Since 2018 Season
The Los Angeles Chargers have now successfully reached the postseason.
Following some successful outcomes in Week 16, the Chargers contributed to securing an AFC wild-card berth with their 20-3 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Monday night.
The Los Angeles Chargers are currently in a position to beat the Indianapolis Colts and will soon be playing on the road during Super Wild Card Weekend thanks to losses by the New York Jets, New England Patriots, and, perhaps most appropriately, the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Chargers (9-6) notched their second three-game winning streak of the 2022 season to advance to the playoffs for the first time since 2018. It will be the Chargers' first postseason trip with star quarterback Justin Herbert, who was selected with the No. 6 overall choice in the 2020 NFL Draft, and under second-year head coach Brandon Staley.
"I believe this is just the start," Making the playoffs is not our ultimate objective, but we anticipated getting to this point, Staley remarked at the news conference following the game. "I'm incredibly proud of our football team's performance this season and what we were able to show to advance to the postseason. Not just being a part of it, but also how we got there and what it took to get there is probably what I'm most proud of. However, for us, this is just the beginning.
Despite losing a number of significant players to injury this season, the Los Angeles Chargers will continue to compete through mid-January. However, there is a chance that pass rusher Joey Bosa (groyne) and left tackle Rashawn Slater (biceps) will be able to play again now that L.A. has secured a wild-card spot.
Making the playoffs will be a lot of fun, Herbert said. I'm just thrilled to be there and to have the chance to continue playing football.
Even though they have had straight winning seasons and haven't been in the postseason, Staley's team is accustomed to win-or-go-home situations. The Chargers lost to the rival Raiders in a nail-biting overtime game when a win or tie would have qualified them for the playoffs in 2021.
After Los Angeles punched its ticket on Monday night, one AFC wild-card spot is still up for grabs, and another fictitious playoff game will undoubtedly take place before the regular season is up.
Five teams with records of 7-8 are now ahead of the Miami Dolphins (8-7): the Patriots, Jets, Steelers, Tennessee Titans, and Jacksonville Jaguars. In Week 17, the Dolphins-Patriots game portends the first domino to fall in the remaining wild-card picture while the Titans and Jaguars attempt to win the AFC South.