Indianapolis, Indiana.- The Los Angeles Chargers have officially ended their playoff drought.
With their 20-3 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Monday night, the Chargers did their part to clinch an AFC wild-card spot following some favorable results in Week 16.
Losses to the New York Jets, New England Patriots and, perhaps most appropriately, the Las Vegas Raiders, put the Chargers in place to clinch the Colts, and now they will soon be playing on the road during Super Wild Card Weekend.
Bound for the playoffs for the first time since 2018, the Chargers (9-6) posted their second three-game winning streak of the 2022 season to get there.
It will be the Chargers’ first postseason appearance under second-year head coach Brandon Staley and star quarterback Justin Herbert, who was drafted with the No. 6 overall pick in 2020.
“I think it’s just the beginning. This is not our ultimate goal, we expected to be at this point,” Staley said of making the playoffs during his postgame press conference. “I am very proud of how this season has gone for our soccer team and what we have been able to show to reach the postseason. That’s probably what I’m most proud of, not just being in it, but how we did it, what it took us to get into. But this is just the beginning for us.”
The Chargers will play through mid-January despite losing a handful of key players to injuries this season, but there’s a chance pass rusher Joey Bosa (groin) and left tackle Rashawn Slater (biceps) might return now that LA has been secured. a wild card position.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Herbert said of making the playoffs. “I’m excited to be in that environment and have the opportunity to continue playing soccer.”
Staley’s team is familiar with win-or-go-home scenarios despite not being in the postseason following posting back-to-back winning seasons. The Chargers came within a win or tie of Week 18 of making the playoffs in 2021, but lost to the rival Raiders in a thrilling overtime.
A wild-card spot remains up for grabs in the AFC following LA earned its ticket Monday night, and there’s bound to be another pseudo-playoff game before the end of the regular season.
The Miami Dolphins (8-7) currently sit just ahead of five teams that have 7-8 records: the Patriots, Jets, Steelers, Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars.
As the Titans and Jaguars aim to capture the AFC South title, the Dolphins-Patriots matchup of Week 17 heralds that the first domino will fall in the remaining wild card image.
Information: NFL.
