Seahawks will put the Chargers 5-2 record to the test

The Seahawks face their toughest test in nearly a month when they host the Los Angeles Chargers. Are the Chargers as good as that 5-2 record?

Wins and losses are the reason teams play. Well, wins are the reason, unless you’re the Oakland Raiders. But won-loss records can be very misleading early in the season. Let’s take a closer look at the Seahawks next opponent, the Chargers.

The Chargers come into Seattle 5-2. It’s a very nice record, but does it really reflect the quality of the team? I say, not so much. First, take a look at who Los Angeles beat. Their vanquished foes are the Buffalo Bills, San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders, Cleveland Browns, and Tennessee Titans. The only team of the five that isn’t objectively awful is the Titans, and they’re 3-4. The Chargers beat them by one point.

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The current combined record of these teams is an appalling 10-29-1, winning just 26 percent of their games. Three of those wins came from teams within that dismal group, by the way. The Bills beat the Titans by one point, the Raiders beat the Browns in overtime, and the 49ers just demolished the Raiders. This is a sad group of teams.

So how did the Chargers fare in these games? They manhandled the Raiders and Browns, and cruised to a win over the Bills after building a 28-3 lead. Their game with the 49ers was a struggle, though, as they pulled out a two point victory with a field goal. And the Titans win was a result of Tennessee coach Mike Vrabel going for a two point conversion and losing the gamble with 31 seconds left in the game.

Los Angeles won these games, and they count as “W”s, just as if they’d beaten the Chiefs or Rams. But they didn’t. The Chargers were never really in the game against the real Los Angeles team – you know, the one that doesn’t play home games at a pickleball court. Yeah, the Seahawks couldn’t beat them either, but they gave them a heck of a game. The Chiefs did the same thing to the Chargers, leading 31-12 going into the fourth quarter.

The Seahawks will face a pretty good offense

I’ll admit, the Chargers do have a dynamic offense, led by Phillip Rivers and Melvin Gordon. At the age of 37, Rivers is having the best year of his career. He’s on pace to set personal single season records for most touchdowns and fewest interceptions. Meanwhile, Gordon is averaging over 5 yards per carry for the first time in his career. He missed last week with hamstring injury, but is expected to be ready for the Seahawks Sunday.

So why am I confident about the game? The bulk of that offense is against those five bad teams. Yeah, the Chargers hung over 500 yards on the Chiefs in that opening loss, but Kansas City has allowed over 500 yards in two other games. That’s their thing, apparently.

The biggest reason for my confidence though is the Chargers defense. As in, they aren’t that great, especially against the run. They rank just 16th in the league in rushing yards allowed. As Lee wrote in his article on how to catch the game,

"Against the Rams, the Chargers allowed 171 yards rushing. In their last game before their bye week, Los Angeles allowed the Titans to run for 164 yards. Los Angeles can be run on. And that is how Seattle can win on Sunday and move to 5-3."

Don’t worry, naysayers. I’m well aware the Seahawks have also benefited from playing some dogs. However, Seattle beat a pair of mediocre 3-4 teams, the Cowboys and Lions, to the Chargers one. Remember the Seahawks gave the Rams a much tougher game than the Chargers managed. And Seattle held the Raiders to 185 yards of total offense, while the Chargers surrendered 289. Although after Thursday, I’m not sure wins against Oakland should even be counted in the standings.

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