Chargers Power Rankings / Ratings Going into Wk 15

[Velo]

Any ranking that has the Chargers below 10 is bogus. I saw one ranking that had the Chargers below the Colts and 49ers (both 7-6). Ridiculous.

[Bolt-O]

Last group of Consensus rankings today, "The Athletic" tomorrow.

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Bleacher Report Consensus 10 (LW 11)

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2951362-2021-br-nfl-power-rankings-where-does-every-team-stand-entering-week-15

For well over a month, the Los Angeles Chargers have been pulling a yo-yo act. The team would lose, then win, then lose, then win, then lose, then win.

For the first time since their bye, the Chargers were able to stack wins in Week 14, taking care of the New York Giants in a game that wasn't as close as the final score.

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert had an excellent game against the G-Men, throwing for 275 yards and three scores and drawing praise from head coach Brandon Staley.

"When you see something special, normally it looks easy," Staley said. "That's what he does. He makes the really, really challenging stuff look easy. And that's a pretty good indicator that you're witnessing something rare."

However, there's not much time for attaboys. This Thursday, the Chargers will play the game that could define their season. Find a way to knock off the Chiefs for the second time in 2021, and the Bolts will assume first place in the AFC West.

Take a loss, and the Chargers will slide back toward a massive pack of six-loss teams in the AFC.

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Reddit NFLPowerRankers Consensus 9 (LW 12)

https://www.reddit.com/r/nfl/comments/rgfx6p/official_rnfl_week_14_power_rankings/

Much like last week, the final score of this game shouldn't fool you. The difference is that unlike last week, the Chargers pretty much completely dominated the field until it was too late for the Giants to recover. Instead of a recap, here's some fun stats: Justin Herbert is the first QB in NFL history to throw 30+ TDs in his first two seasons and would finish the season with 4998 passing yards at his current pace. On defense, Kyzir White and Derwin James have become the first Chargers duo to have 100+ tackles in a season since 2000 (Junior Seau, Rodney Harrison). At 8-5, the Chargers sit squarely in the playoff picture and Thursday night can't come soon enough.

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AP Pro 32 Consensus 9 (LW 12)

http://www.pro32.ap.org/poll

<no blurb>

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[Bolt-O]

Any ranking that has the Chargers below 10 is bogus. I saw one ranking that had the Chargers below the Colts and 49ers (both 7-6). Ridiculous.

I think there is some 'recency' bias for the 49ers. But the Colts have a MVP candidate at RB, and barely lost in three games, and currently have a better D than the Chargers, at least statistically. I don't think it is unreasonable for the Colts to be ranked higher.

[gzubeck]

I think there is some 'recency' bias for the 49ers. But the Colts have a MVP candidate at RB, and barely lost in three games, and currently have a better D than the Chargers, at least statistically. I don't think it is unreasonable for the Colts to be ranked higher.

It's up to our marginal players to play above marginal for us to move up. Also, soundly beating the chiefs would go a long way into moving up into top 7 teams. Top ten is not shabby with 32 teams though!

:beer:

[Bolt-O]

Last blurb and rankings summary:

The Athletic Consensus 9 (LW 12)

https://theathletic.com/3016422/2021/12/15/nfl-power-rankings-week-15-aaron-rodgers-toe-is-a-pain-father-time-finds-tom-brady-and-other-worst-case-scenarios/

Worst-case scenario: The Chargers' season-long inconsistency causes them to drop another game or two and they deprive everyone the chance to watch Justin Herbert's rocket-launcher arm at work in the postseason. A win over the Bengals and Giants in Weeks 13 and 14 gave the Chargers their first winning streak since their victories in Weeks 3 to 5, but the Giants are also a mess. This is still a team with a young quarterback and first-year head coach in Brandon Staley. A win Thursday at home would move the Chargers into first place in the AFC West and complete a season sweep of the Chiefs.

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[Bolt-O]

Done for the week, updated the 'ratings' summary. I will be adding the playoff clinching scenarios when we get them to the weekly news.

[Bolt-O]

AFC clinching scenarios:

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (9-4) (vs. Indianapolis (7-6), Saturday night, 8:20 PM ET, NFLN)

New England clinches playoff berth with:

NE win + MIA loss or tie + CLE loss + BAL loss + CIN loss + KC loss OR
NE win + MIA loss or tie + CLE loss + BAL loss + DEN loss + LAC loss OR
NE win + MIA loss or tie + CLE loss + PIT loss or tie + DEN loss or tie + LAC loss OR
NE win + MIA loss or tie + CLE loss + BAL loss + PIT loss or tie + CIN loss OR
NE win + MIA loss or tie + CLE loss + BAL loss + CIN loss + LAC loss OR
NE win + MIA loss or tie + BAL loss + LAC loss + LV loss + CIN-DEN tie

NOTE: There are other complex scenarios for New England that involve multiple ties and strength-of-victory permutations.

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TENNESSEE TITANS (9-4) (at Pittsburgh (6-6-1), Sunday, 1:00 PM ET, CBS)

Tennessee clinches AFC South division title with:

TEN win + IND loss

[Boltjolt]

Football Outsiders DVOA:


For offense, Pass #3, Rush #11
For defense, Pass #9, Rush #32

No idea what this even means.

[Bolt-O]

No idea what this even means.

https://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/nfl/team-efficiency/2021

https://www.footballoutsiders.com/info/methods#dvoa

It measures play by play performance against the league average. It doesn't just measure performance by yardage, but also includes scoring. I only look at the ranking, assuming all teams are measured the same way. You can see it does correlate well to actual standings.