Chargers Predicted for Last Place Finish in AFC West

ESPN’s Football Power Index doesn’t believe in the Los Angeles Chargers. After a hiring a new head coach and selecting a highly regarded draft class, the FPI still has little hope for the Chargers in 2017.

Before taking a look at how the Chargers fare in the FPI, here is how ESPN’s Hank Gargiulo explains what FPI is.

In short, a team's FPI rating combines its efficiency ratings on offense, defense and special teams -- based on each unit's expected points added per play -- with the sum of all three squad ratings yielding the overall FPI rating

Just to get an idea of where the team stands, the Chargers are ranked 21st in the FPI power rankings right in front of the Washington Redskins and behind the Detroit Lions.

When taking a look at the AFC West, the Chargers are predicted to finish in last place. FPI predicts the team has an 11.1 percent chance to win the AFC West. In a stacked division, the Chargers will have to play extremely well in the division. Something the team hasn’t done in years as their record in the AFC West is 1-11 in the past two seasons.

When it comes to making the playoffs, things start to look a tad brighter. FPI projects the Chargers having a 24.6 percent chance of making the postseason.

This number seems fairly accurate. The AFC has plenty of talented teams and with young teams like the Tennessee Titans ready for a playoff push, the Chargers could easily fall out of the playoff race.

Hopefully, Chargers fans don’t have Super Bowl aspirations because the FPI has given the Chargers a 1.0 percent chance of playing for the Lombardi trophy.

This shouldn’t shock anyone. The team has won nine games in the past two seasons and even with a new head coach and solid offseason additions, the team is far from elite.

The first step should be playing a meaningful game in December, it’s hard to dream for a February game at this point.

Another quick note, the Chargers are involved in one of the most lopsided matchups in 2017.

When the Chargers travel to Foxboro to take on the New England Patriots, the game may be over before it even starts. FPI believes that Tom Brady and the Pats have an 84.6 percent chance of winning. That number is the 4th highest win probability for the 2017 season.

Although these numbers are only projections, it is still disappointing to see the Chargers viewed as one of the worst teams in the league. Hopefully, head coach Anthony Lynn can right the ship and bring the Bolts back into relevancy.