Once the officially 2021 schedule came out, everyone put on their fortune-teller hats and began predicting how the upcoming season is going to go and how many wins/losses their favorite team is going to have.
Of course, the biggest perpetrators of attempting to see the future are the folks in Vegas. According to the Westgate Superbook’s point spreads for the entire 2021 NFL season, the Bolts are favored in 11 games this season, which would mean they’d finish with four more wins than they did a year ago.
Here’s how the schedule shakes out with Vegas’ odds included:
Chargers (-1 1⁄2 ) @ Washington Football Team
Cowboys @ Chargers (-1 1⁄2 )
Chargers @ Chiefs (-7 1⁄2 )
Raiders @ Chargers (-4)
Browns @ Chargers ( -1 1⁄2 )
Chargers @ Ravens (-5 1⁄2 )
BYE
Chargers (-2 1⁄2 ) @ Patriots
Chargers (-2) @ Eagles
Vikings @ Chargers (-3)
Steelers @ Chargers (-2 1⁄2 )
Chargers (-2 1⁄2 )@ Bengals
Giants @ Chargers (-6)
Chiefs (-6 1⁄2 ) @ Chargers
Chargers (-4 1⁄2 ) @ Texans
Broncos @ Chargers (-3)
Chargers @ Raiders (-1 1⁄2 )
It’s no secret that the Chargers will face quite the gambit through their first six weeks of the season. Luckily, they get to enjoy a bye week in week seven that will go a long way in allowing the team to catch their breathe coming off of a stretch where they play four 2020 playoff teams over the first month and a half.
As you can see, Vegas believes the Bolts will fall twice to the Chiefs and once to each the Broncos and Raiders. That would mean a 2-4 record in the division and a 9-2 record outside of it. In a stingy division like the AFC West, that’s not all that surprising. It hasn’t mattered who was good or not, each team plays each other hard and there’s always one or two big upsets a year (see the Raiders and Chiefs last season).
An 11-6 record is probably good enough for one of the wildcard spots, but I think it’d go a long way for the Chargers to sweep at least one of the Broncos and Raiders. The last time they made the playoffs in 2018, they swept the Raiders and won once against the Chiefs and Broncos.
Of their 11 wins, the team would get revenge against a number of teams they’ve lost to over the past two seasons, including the Steelers, Vikings, Texans, and the Patriots.
Chargers fans, which lines stand out to you? Does an 11-6 record make sense or would you consider it too optimistic? What are your own win/loss predictions for this season? Let me know in the comments below.