Chargers wildly shoved aside for Chiefs in playoff projections

For nearly a decade, the Los Angeles Chargers have had to endure the Kansas City Chiefs dominating the division. For once, they actually control the AFC West as the 2025 season heads into Week 7. The Chargers and Denver Broncos are tied at 4-2, but the Bolts hold a tiebreaker currently due to their Week 3 victory.

There's still plenty of football to be played, but teams with playoff aspirations will begin to pull away from the stragglers over the next few weeks. It's very likely that the AFC West could have three playoff teams, with the Las Vegas Raiders probably headed towards another early offseason.

In ESPN's 2025 playoff projections, they actually had the Chiefs with a higher chance to make the playoffs *and* to win the division than the Chargers. ESPN gave Kansas City a 77% chance to make the postseason with a 38% chance to take the AFC West crown. The Chargers have a 75% chance to reach the playoffs and a 34% chance to win the division.

Seeing as how the Chiefs have won the division nine years in a row, it's easy to see why ESPN would favor them to do it once again to reach ten. Still, it doesn't make it any less disrespectful to the Chargers, who made a statement in Week 1 against the defending AFC champions.

Looks like the Bolts need to continue to prove more people wrong.

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert — Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

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