Chargers Playoff Picture: Bolts on track for AFC’s No. 5 seed after Ravens lose to Steelers

Ahead of Sunday Night Football, the Chargers needed the Ravens to lose one of their next two games (vs. Steelers, @ Bengals) while they won out to maximize their chances at moving up into the No. 5 seed and earning a date with the AFC South winner in the wild card round.

Well, after the Ravens lost to the Steelers on Sunday night, the Chargers are now already in the No. 5 seed and will just need either a win over the Broncos or a Ravens loss to the Bengals to clinch the seed entirely.

Should the Ravens win next week, on top of the Bengals losing to the Bills Monday night, they’d vault to the No. 3 seed. If that’s the case, the Bengals would fall to 11-6 on the season and hold a record within the AFC of 7-5. That means the Chargers would have to beat the Broncos in this scenario (get to 11-6, have a better record in the AFC at 8-5) or else they’d fall back to the No. 6 seed and play the Ravens in the wild card round.

But as things stand, the most likely scenario is the Ravens fall to the Bengals next week and the Bolts will be locked in to the No. 5 seed, no matter what the outcome is between them and the Broncos in the season finale.

But of course, let’s get that 11th win and make this season that much better, yeah?