As the AFC\u2019s seventh and last seed, Jim Harbaugh\u2019s Chargers actually caught two breaks going into the Super Bowl tournament that will begin this weekend.<\/p>\n
The Chargers (11-6) will face the second-seeded Patriots (14-3) in New England.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a better matchup for Los Angeles than having to play either the third-seeded Jaguars or the fifth-seeded Texans. Why? Those defenses are better-equipped to exploit a wobbly Chargers blocking unit that will lack star tackles Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater.<\/p>\n
Boasting explosive ends in Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter plus a good backup edge rusher in Derek Barnett, the Texans would pose the diciest matchup for L.A.\u2019s tackles and others who help them.<\/p>\n
A Jaguars front led by end Josh Hines-Allen can create similar problems.<\/p>\n
For the Chargers, there are no other personnel mismatches in the AFC field as daunting as having to protect Justin Herbert at Houston or Jacksonville.<\/p>\n
The second break for L.A. is this one, and it\u2019s the bigger of the two:<\/p>\n
The Broncos (14-3) are a mediocre top seed that peaked several weeks ago, meaning that if the Chargers beat Mike Vrabel\u2019s well-coached Patriots, they\u2019d have a fair shot of advancing to the Super Bowl qualifier by winning the divisional-round game at Denver.<\/p>\n
The Broncos have allowed 25 points or more in three of their past four games, not counting Sunday\u2019s contest, which Herbert sat out and Denver needed to win to get the top seed.<\/p>\n
The Broncos\u2019 success on offense owes much to coach Sean Payton\u2019s clever planning and playcalling. Deep into the season, the Chargers and others have cut into that advantage.<\/p>\n
Looking comfortable with what they were seeing, coordinator Jesse Minter\u2019s defenders outplayed Broncos starters for much of Sunday\u2019s game despite lacking three stars in safety Derwin James Jr., edge rusher Khalil Mack and linebacker Daiyan Henley.<\/p>\n
The Broncos won 19-3, but that was despite their offense, which gained just 4.1 yards per play and allowed four sacks.<\/p>\n
NFC breakdown<\/p>\n
The NFC\u2019s Seahawks are a true No. 1 seed, playing with force on both sides of the ball.<\/p>\n
If quarterback Sam Darnold can avoid turnovers \u2014 and he seemed extra keen to do in Saturday\u2019s win over the 49ers with a first-round bye on the line for both teams \u2014 the Seahawks (14-3) will have a great shot at winning their second Super Bowl trophy.<\/p>\n
Injury attrition and fatigue argue strongly against the 12-5 49ers winning the franchise\u2019s first Lombardi Trophy since the blowout win over the Chargers 31 years ago in Super Bowl 29.<\/p>\n
The Niners could not match the Seahawks\u2019 physicality Saturday in what was San Francisco\u2019s third game in just 13 days. Now they must face a rugged Eagles team in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n
San Francisco general manager John Lynch, the Hall of Fame safety who grew up in Solana Beach, looked ready to put on a helmet after watching his defense allow the Seahawks to convert on third-and-17 with a crack toss sweep. Attacking 49ers at middle linebacker and left end, where injuries have subtracted All-Pros Fred Warner and Nick Bosa, plus other spots, the Seahawks got critical blocks from undrafted receiver Jake Bobo, rookie guard Grey Zabel and tight end Eric Saubert, who\u2019s on his 11th NFL franchise.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the playoff game almost all football lovers want to see: the Rams against the Seahawks for a third time this season.\u00a0The teams split two close contests, each winning at home. A rematch would come in Seattle.<\/p>\n
The Seahawks\u2019 38-37 win Dec. 18 was perhaps the most entertaining NFL game this season. A month earlier, the Rams picked off four Darnold passes and won 21-19, although not before sweating out kicker Jason Myers\u2019 61-yard try as time ran out.<\/p>\n
The Rams haven\u2019t regained peak form since the loss at Seattle. They did get a lift Sunday from Tyler Higbee. A complete tight end who ties together Sean McVay\u2019s offense, the 10th-year was playing in his first game since injuring an ankle Nov. 16. Higbee caught a 22-yard TD pass in the fourth quarter and finished with five catches for 91 yards. It was two years ago next week that Higbee suffered an injury that required reconstructive knee surgery.<\/p>\n
Draft fallout<\/p>\n
Light a candle for Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza because in April, he will join the low-talent Raiders (3-14) as the first pick of the NFL draft. A Giants win over the Cowboys ensured Las Vegas got the first slot.<\/p>\n
For Mendoza\u2019s sake, Raiders minority owner Tom Brady and rookie general manager John Spytak need to make large upgrades to the offensive line, pass-catching group and the coaching staff.<\/p>\n
The Chiefs got the ninth pick. That\u2019s nine spots better than the highest slot generated by a Chiefs team since coach Andy Reid took over in 2013.<\/p>\n
Jets general manager Darren Mougey, a former San Diego State quarterback and receiver, holds the No. 2 pick. If Oregon quarterback Dante Moore, 20, decides to leave early for the NFL, Mougey will have to think about drafting him after Mendoza goes. The Jets had the NFL\u2019s worst point differential this year, but Mougey hit on a few draft picks, including right tackle Armand Membou, who went seventh.<\/p>\n
Friday\u2019s Indiana-Oregon game will allow NFL scouts a closer look at the two QBs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As the AFC\u2019s seventh and last seed, Jim Harbaugh\u2019s Chargers actually caught two breaks going into the Super…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":120364,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[181,1333,752,74,76,75,127,1696],"class_list":{"0":"post-120363","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-latest-headlines","9":"tag-los-angeles-chargers","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-san-diego","12":"tag-san-diego-headlines","13":"tag-san-diego-news","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-top-stories-sdut"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120363"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120363\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}