Week 16 Charger Power Rankings and Ratings

[Bolt-O]

Summary:

ranks2017.jpg

ARGH did not post.

As would be expected, the Chargers flipped their position with the Chiefs on most power rankings (but not on objective ratings).

Initial Draft position of 15 is based on a projected 8-8 record, with a .470 Strength of Schedule.

[Bolt-O]

Chris Simms, Bleacher Report/PFT 14 (LW 10 )

The Los Angeles Chargers did not play their best game. It was shocking to see a run defense that had improved so much in recent weeks play so poorly against the Chiefs. But the biggest mistakes came from quarterback Philip Rivers.

Rivers' first interception was a game-changing moment. It was 17-13 Chiefs, and Kansas City had just put together a long drive. Rivers tried to force a ball downfield when he had another receiver open. The Chiefs quickly scored and changed L.A.'s game plan.

One thing the Chargers had done during their hot streak was protect the football. They didn't do that in Kansas City, and that cost them big. To make the postseason now, the Chargers would need to win out and get some help.
---

Frank Schwab, Yahoo Sports 11 (LW 9 )

The most troubling thing about Saturday's loss might be that the defense disappeared. One sack. No interceptions. Unable to slow down Kareem Hunt. The Chargers defense had been among the best in the NFL in the weeks leading up to that showdown against the Chiefs, and it was a no-show in the biggest game of the year.
---

Walter Football 10 (LW 6 )

Ah, the same old Chargers. Just when we think they're for real, they remind us that they're guaranteed to lose a big game.

We all should've seen it coming. They had won four in a row heading into the Kansas City game, but their four victories were against Nathan Peterman, the Sean Lee-less Cowboys, the Browns and the banged-up Redskins.

---

Elliot Harrison, NFL.com 13 (LW 9 )

The Chargers are not done yet, although the path to the playoffs gets much more difficult following the loss to the Chiefs. In order to win the AFC West, the Bolts would have to win out while hoping that Kansas City falls flat over the last two weeks. Now it's really a waiting game to see if either the Ravens or Titans stumble. While it was only encroachment, I thought Jatavis Brown's offside midway through the third quarter was huge. The Chargers had just gained the lead at 13-10 and were a third-and-5 away from holding the Chiefs to a three-and-out -- Los Angeles had all the momentum. But then Brown jumped, jumpstarting a Kansas City drive that went right down the field. Andy Reid's boys never looked back.

[Bolt-O]

Pete Prisco, 15 CBS Sports (LW 11 )

They need to win the last two and hope for help to get into the playoffs. They were awful at Kansas City.
---

Adam Stites, SB Nation 15 (LW 11 )

A four-game win streak ended Saturday and the Chargers' playoff hopes probably did too. If Los Angeles finishes with back-to-back wins against the Jets and Raiders, there will be a small chance the Chargers make it, but they have to rely on other teams collapsing down the stretch.

What's disheartening for the Chargers was how things ended. After giving away just one turnover in four games and forcing 11, the Chiefs avoided any turnovers while the Chargers gave away four.

The Chargers have a reputation for falling apart in big moments. This was just the latest example.
---

Mike Florio, Pro Football Talk/NBC 14 (LW 10 )

They worked and worked and worked to get themselves to a game that meant everything. And then they blew it.
---

Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News 17 (LW 12 )

The Chargers did their best to rebound from 0-4, but injuries and inconsistency have hit them hard again. They can still finish strong for Anthony Lynn even without a playoff berth.
---

Matt Verderame, Fansided.com 14 (LW 10 )

Los Angeles had a chance to prove its worth. Instead, it fell apart.

[Bolt-O]

USA Today 13 (LW 11)

A run defense that's been susceptible all season broke down at worst time -- on a night when Philip Rivers also failed to protect ball.
---

ESPN 15 (LW 11 )

(How are Pro Bowl veterans doing on the team) Antonio Gates (8): The tight end made the Pro Bowl eight times in his first 14 NFL seasons, but Year 15 hasn't been as kind to him. Gates did set the record for touchdowns by a tight end this season, but he has just 20 catches for 189 yards and is the clear No. 2 option at his position in L.A.
---

Reddit 14 (LW 11)

The Chargers do not deserve to win the AFC West. The superior team has smashed them twice, and by no means did it have to be that way. The Chargers's performance on Saturday night up in Kansas City was worthy of a cellar dweller, not a playoff contender. The Chiefs just played better, period. The next two games are very winnable, but now the Chargers will have to rely on luck on top of correcting virtually everything to even have a shot at the playoffs.

[Bolt-O]

OP updated with the summary

Here is the Football Outsiders DVOA ranking. Chargers are no longer the #32 team in ST ratings (Broncos are...):

	TEAM	TOTAL DVOA	LAST WEEK	WEI. DVOA	RANK	W-L	OFFENSE DVOA	OFF. RANK	DEFENSE DVOA	DEF. RANK	S.T. DVOA	S.T. RANK
1	LARM	38.0%	1	43.4%	1	10-4	14.3%	6	-14.4%	3	9.3%	2
2	NO	30.6%	2	32.7%	2	10-4	23.6%	2	-8.0%	9	-1.0%	19
3	PHI	27.3%	3	31.0%	3	12-2	15.9%	4	-9.7%	6	1.6%	13
4	BAL	24.2%	5	30.7%	4	8-6	-5.1%	20	-19.4%	2	9.8%	1
5	PIT	23.8%	4	20.0%	9	11-3	17.8%	3	-4.5%	12	1.4%	14
6	MIN	23.6%	6	23.6%	6	11-3	11.6%	7	-11.8%	4	0.1%	16
7	JAC	20.8%	8	21.0%	7	10-4	2.4%	16	-20.1%	1	-1.6%	21
8	NE	18.8%	7	25.1%	5	11-3	25.4%	1	12.4%	30	5.8%	4
9	CAR	17.0%	9	20.7%	8	10-4	3.6%	14	-9.6%	7	3.8%	7
10	KC	13.6%	10	2.5%	14	8-6	15.1%	5	7.3%	22	5.7%	5
11	DAL	7.2%	12	10.0%	11	8-6	8.0%	10	7.3%	23	6.5%	3
12	LACH	5.4%	13	12.1%	10	7-7	8.3%	9	-5.0%	11	-7.9%	31
13	DET	4.5%	15	-0.7%	16	8-6	3.2%	15	3.9%	17	5.2%	6
14	GB	2.6%	14	2.6%	13	7-7	5.1%	12	4.2%	19	1.7%	12
15	SEA	2.4%	11	4.6%	12	8-6	1.6%	17	-3.6%	13	-2.9%	23
16	ATL	0.5%	16	-0.6%	15	9-5	10.0%	8	8.1%	25	-1.4%	20
	TEAM	TOTAL DVOA	LAST WEEK	WEI. DVOA	RANK	W-L	OFFENSE DVOA	OFF. RANK	DEFENSE DVOA	DEF. RANK	S.T. DVOA	S.T. RANK
17	WAS	-0.4%	17	-8.8%	19	6-8	-1.5%	18	-5.2%	10	-4.1%	27
18	OAK	-5.5%	18	-5.0%	17	6-8	7.8%	11	12.9%	32	-0.3%	17
19	BUF	-8.3%	23	-15.2%	24	8-6	-14.0%	26	-2.0%	15	3.7%	8
20	TEN	-8.7%	19	-15.1%	23	8-6	-2.1%	19	7.3%	24	0.7%	15
21	TB	-12.3%	25	-14.2%	22	4-10	3.7%	13	12.6%	31	-3.5%	24
22	ARI	-13.5%	22	-6.8%	18	6-8	-19.1%	29	-11.5%	5	-5.9%	29
23	HOU	-15.8%	21	-23.7%	31	4-10	-7.5%	22	4.3%	20	-3.9%	26
24	NYJ	-16.4%	26	-11.7%	20	5-9	-8.5%	23	5.0%	21	-2.8%	22
25	CHI	-16.9%	24	-14.0%	21	4-10	-15.9%	27	-2.8%	14	-3.8%	25
26	CIN	-17.0%	20	-15.4%	25	5-9	-12.3%	25	4.2%	18	-0.5%	18
27	MIA	-21.2%	28	-19.9%	27	6-8	-16.2%	28	8.4%	26	3.3%	9
28	SF	-21.3%	27	-19.0%	26	4-10	-12.2%	24	11.2%	29	2.0%	11
29	DEN	-21.6%	29	-29.1%	32	5-9	-20.8%	30	-8.2%	8	-8.9%	32
30	NYG	-23.9%	30	-23.4%	29	2-12	-7.1%	21	9.7%	28	-7.1%	30
31	IND	-28.4%	31	-22.0%	28	3-11	-21.6%	31	9.7%	27	2.8%	10
32	CLE	-28.5%	32	-23.6%	30	0-14	-21.7%	32	2.2%	16	-4.6%	28

.
And the schedule data:

	TEAM	TOTAL DVOA	W-L	NON-ADJ TOT VOA	ESTIM. WINS	RANK	PAST SCHED	RANK	FUTURE SCHED	RANK	VAR.	RANK
1	LARM	38.0%	10-4	35.0%	11.2	2	-0.2%	16	-15.0%	27	17.7%	25
2	NO	30.6%	10-4	24.7%	11.8	1	1.1%	12	-5.9%	19	8.1%	9
3	PHI	27.3%	12-2	29.0%	10.2	4	-2.7%	26	0.9%	14	13.2%	19
4	BAL	24.2%	8-6	28.8%	9.7	7	-3.1%	28	-22.7%	31	16.8%	23
5	PIT	23.8%	11-3	24.6%	9.9	6	1.1%	13	-22.1%	30	10.3%	14
6	MIN	23.6%	11-3	20.9%	10.2	3	5.0%	4	-7.2%	22	6.8%	6
7	JAC	20.8%	10-4	26.6%	9.0	10	-5.6%	31	-15.0%	27	24.0%	32
8	NE	18.8%	11-3	20.5%	9.1	9	-2.2%	23	-12.3%	26	8.8%	10
9	CAR	17.0%	10-4	15.0%	10.0	5	3.0%	6	-5.9%	19	6.6%	5
10	KC	13.6%	8-6	14.8%	9.1	8	-0.7%	18	-21.4%	29	16.1%	22
11	DAL	7.2%	8-6	7.8%	8.1	11	-1.7%	19	14.8%	6	20.2%	28
12	LACH	5.4%	7-7	12.0%	7.0	15	-2.1%	22	-10.9%	25	9.6%	11

Titans have the toughest remaining two games in the league...

[Formula 21]

The Chargers have a reputation for falling apart in big moments. This was just the latest example.

Word.