Week 13 SNF flexed to LAC @ PIT, Week 14 flexed to LAR @ CHI

[BayRaider]

4 hours ago, game3525 said:

First time Chargers have been on SNF since 2014 I believe.

It is nice to be good again. 

How I felt in 2016. First time the Raiders were on SNF in actually... a decade I think. We ended up smashing the Broncos and going 7-2. 

[jrry32]

Nice. I'm glad one of our few 1 PM games got flexed. 

[Oregon Ducks]

We're about to FLEX on this PITs.

[3rivers]

6 hours ago, Superman(DH23) said:

This was the flex I predicted to start the year.

and who did you predict would win

[El Ramster]

3 hours ago, jrry32 said:

Nice. I'm glad one of our few 1 PM games got flexed. 

Only the Lions right? 

[Superman(DH23)]

4 hours ago, 3rivers said:

and who did you predict would win

Rams, my thinking was the game would be very close but they would win in a tightly contested matchup.  But that was when I was thinking the Rams would have a great defense.  Now I'm not so sure. We'll see what happens.  Got 3 weeks before that game.

[big_palooka]

The Raiders game getting flexed out for Khalil Mack's Bears really just sums up this Gruden era. 

[TheKillerNacho]

14 hours ago, DigInBoys said:

If they had some crummy NFC East matchups scheduled nothing would have changed.

They purposefully put those matchups in the beginning of the season so they won't get flexxed... scummy.

[El Ramster]

5 hours ago, Superman(DH23) said:

Rams, my thinking was the game would be very close but they would win in a tightly contested matchup.  But that was when I was thinking the Rams would have a great defense.  Now I'm not so sure. We'll see what happens.  Got 3 weeks before that game.

People keep talking about our D. But these are the Qb's whove we've faced. 

Rodgers, Brees, Wilson x2, Cousins and Rivers. Bad Qb's we make love to. Carr, Bradford, Bethard and now a big Mitch is next. 

 

[tom cody]

Should be 2 good games there for sure. Rams/Bears could be a divisional round preview. Chargers/Steelers maybe in the wild card round. 

[Bolts223]

19 hours ago, Boltstrikes said:

Do you remember the year we literally lost to the Chiefs and subsequently missed the playoffs because of a dropped snap? 

 

4th and 29?

 

The immaculate deception?

 

Marlon Mcree fumbling a game winning interception? 

 

This franchise is a black belt in snapping defeat from the haws jaws of victory. I’m not getting my hopes up yet. The only reason 28-3 wasn’t against us is because we were eliminated in like week 6 that year. 

I was at the game when 4th & 29 happened.

All of that means nothing beyond superstition. The Eagles were considered a cursed franchise until they weren't, same with the Red Sox & Cubs in baseball.

As a football fan of any team you can obviously only get your hopes up so much, because winning in the NFL is hard.

But at the same time this is an entirely different coaching regime and the only players still on the team from most of those teams are Rivers/Gates. This team has its own identity. The Chargers also historically lose games like the 49ers, Seahawks and Titans games. They didn't this year.

I'm not saying that we are going to win the SB or anything, but all of these people whose doubts stem from shortcomings of the past with almost entirely different players and coaches are irrationally negative about this team. If you want to have doubts because you don't think our defense will be able to stop the Chiefs/Pats offenses, that's fair. If you think that our RECENT struggles against the Chiefs will hold us back, that's fair. If you think that this team just isn't as good as other teams in the league, that's fair. But using the fact that Marlon McCree fumbled a 4th down interception 12 years ago or that we gave up a 29 yard 4th down conversion to Ray Rice under Norv Turner with a much less talented roster just shows me that you aren't thinking rationally about the team.

[Superman(DH23)]

5 hours ago, El ramster said:

People keep talking about our D. But these are the Qb's whove we've faced. 

Rodgers, Brees, Wilson x2, Cousins and Rivers. Bad Qb's we make love to. Carr, Bradford, Bethard and now a big Mitch is next. 

 

I mean our D held Rodgers to 23 and Brady to 24.  I guess you can make excuses or you can stand up.  And ummm, Mitch trails Cousins QBR by just 0.6 points, and his Total QBR is significantly better.  We'll see, countdown to Dec 9th.

[Leoric]

@Bolts223 beyond superstition I don’t see this team staying healthy through the final part of the season. Staying healthy is tough and to close out against the best of the NFC North and divisional games is a tall task to ask. 

 

Then to go out and win three in a row on the road in the playoffs. We’d have to be playing like Juggernauts for me to think that was likely. We let the Raiders hang around way too long last week. Titans game was way too close for comfort. 

 

Largely it comes down to I dont trust our defense when it gets cold. A team can disrupt us by running it right at us. Our offense is big play dependent and not the grind the first downs and control the clock type of offense that carries a defense in December. It will be something stupid that highlights why we lose. We’ll muff a punt but the real reason we don’t make it is going to be we are weak on both sides of the ball when it comes to the power run game. We get chunks on the ground but it isn’t the sustainable grind. 

[Bolts223]

1 hour ago, Boltstrikes said:

@Bolts223 beyond superstition I don’t see this team staying healthy through the final part of the season. Staying healthy is tough and to close out against the best of the NFC North and divisional games is a tall task to ask. 

 

Then to go out and win three in a row on the road in the playoffs. We’d have to be playing like Juggernauts for me to think that was likely. We let the Raiders hang around way too long last week. Titans game was way too close for comfort. 

 

Largely it comes down to I dont trust our defense when it gets cold. A team can disrupt us by running it right at us. Our offense is big play dependent and not the grind the first downs and control the clock type of offense that carries a defense in December. It will be something stupid that highlights why we lose. We’ll muff a punt but the real reason we don’t make it is going to be we are weak on both sides of the ball when it comes to the power run game. We get chunks on the ground but it isn’t the sustainable grind. 

The injury thing is another thing that you are just expecting to happen beyond having any reason too. Yeah obviously losing Denzel sucks, Hunter Henry's ACL sucks, and Bosa being out for so long sucks. Having that been said, we aren't any more injured than a lot of teams have been this season. Nor were we last season for that matter. Honestly getting Bosa back is probably just what we need to have a chance in some of these games against Pit/KC.

I never said anything about us winning the AFC. I think this team is good enough to do it, but at the end of the day you actually have to go do it. Winning in places like Arrowhead and Gillette are obviously tall tasks. That having been said, we aren't completely out of contention for the division yet, but beating KC on TNF will be very tough.

I think that the Chargers are built very well to play in the cold, actually. You are forgetting that we also have one of the most prolific rushing attacks in the NFL, so that works both ways. I also think that even with Perryman out we shouldn't be getting gashed every game all of a sudden. Bosa coming back will also help in defending the run as well as the pass.

Also: A team will probably get the wild card this season with 9 wins. We could literally only beat the Cardinals and the Broncos once and still get in. It is more likely that we will beat at least one of the Bengals/Ravens who have not looked good recently and possibly the Broncos twice.

I get the idea of not getting your hopes up, but I feel like you are going beyond the point of reason and you are irrationally predicting the worst to happen. Chances are that this team will probably go 11-5. (We win against Denver at home, Arizona, Baltimore and Cincy while we lose against Pit, KC and at Denver where we would be resting starters because we will already be locked into the 5 seed.)

As far as the playoffs go, I think we probably beat Houston or whoever wins the AFCS in the wild card round and then probably lose in the divisional round. I think this team is capable of more, but I can't predict them to go on the road and beat KC/New England/Pit. Crazier things have happened though and the talent is certainly there.

 

 

[CKS97]

The Niners acquitted themselves well enough in the primetime games that couldn't be flexed out. Raiders, OTOH.....