A Super Bowl run would be historic, here is path Chargers must take

The playoffs are set. The Los Angeles Chargers, as the seventh seed, will travel to Foxborough to face off against the New England Patriots, who are the number two seed in the AFC.

The Chargers, entering the playoffs as the lowest seed, have the most difficult path to the Super Bowl on paper, as every matchup they could potentially have will be against the highest seed remaining and on the road. If the Chargers are able to make a playoff run, let's break down the path.

The path starts in New England

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To state the obvious, the Chargers will need to beat the New England Patriots in order to move on to the divisional round. The Patriots' offense against the Chargers' defense will be must-see football. The Patriots will bring the best offense in the NFL by several metrics to the table.

The Chargers have several injury questions to answer, including the most recent starting left tackle, Jamaree Salyer, who has missed the last two weeks due to a hamstring injury suffered on the opening drive of week 16. Top running back, rookie Omarion Hampton also missed week 18 with an ankle injury suffered at the end of wee 17 against the Houston Texans.

The Chargers under Jim Harbaugh are fundamentally built to handle cold January football. The current forecast shows clear skies and a daytime high of 42 degrees in Foxborough. The Chargers won a much colder game at Arrowhead in week 15 against the Kansas City Chiefs. Los Angeles need to bring their best defense to the table and slow down Drake Maye and company and give their offense enough opportunities to score.

Hypothetical divisional round against a familiar foe

Los Angeles Chargers edge rusher Khalil Mack — Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The Chargers rested their starters in week 18 and sent their backups to face off against their AFC West divisional opponents, the Denver Broncos. The Chargers' reserves gave the Denver offense everything they could handle and kept Bo Nix and the Broncos offense out of the endzone. The Chargers offense, featuring an all-backup offensive line including a practice squad player, could only muster a field goal. The Chargers ultimately fell in the meaningless game 19-3.

The victory for the Broncos secured the top overall seed for Denver and a first-round bye. It also secured a potential quick rematch with their inter-division foes. If the Chargers are able to take down the New England Patriots, their next matchup will be right back in Denver.

The Chargers' familiarity with the Broncos will make for another back-alley AFC West brawl.

The hypothetical AFC Championship

Should the Chargers make it to the AFC title game, they will do so on the road and for the first time since 2007. The path the Chargers are required to take forces them to take out the top two seeds in the AFC on their way to a conference championship.

The NFL expanded the playoff format from six teams to seven starting in the 2020 COVID-19 season. Since the expansion, no seventh seed has made the conference title game and only one, the 2024 Green Bay Packers, have won their wildcard matchup. Obviously, this is a small sample size with only five years of the new format. The Chargers would be making history if they are able to make this run.

By defeating the top two seeds in the AFC, the Chargers would then be faced against the remaining winner between the third through sixth seeds. The Jacksonville Jaguars, Pittsburgh Steelers, Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills would be the teams capable of reaching the AFC championship in this scenario.

It will take a history making effort from the Chargers to reach a Superbowl

Since the playoff format expanded to seven teams from each conference, no seventh seed has made a conference title game. However, two sixth-seeded teams have made and won the Super Bowl under the previous format. The 2005 Steelers and the 2010 Green Bay Packers both went on the road the entire playoffs and won the Superbowl.

The 2007 New York Giants and the 2020 Tampa Bay Buccaneers managed the same feat on the road the entirety of the playoffs to win the Super Bowl; they were the 5th seed in their respective seasons.

The task ahead is not impossible for the Los Angeles Chargers but will be a battle. The battle starts on Sunday Night Football in New England.

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