Chargers lose final 6 games, pundit says

With six games left, the Chargers (6-4) aim to scramble into the playoffs.

One pundit who doesn’t like their chances is Grantland’s Bill Simmons.

Simmons not only expects the Chargers to fall short of the postseason, he picks them to fall off a cliff. Here’s the snippet from his Week 12 predictions:

The Chargers have scored 54 points total since Week 6; they can’t block anyone. And they have the 31st-ranked defensive DVOA. Which brings me to my Crazy Proclamation of the Week: I don’t think San Diego wins again this season. They go STL, @Bal, NE, DEN, @SF, @KC. In the words of James “Baby Doll” Dixon, I wish them a lot of luck.

I don’t share Simmons’ pessimism. I forecast a 4-3 finish, post-bye. They’re 1-0 so far. Along with the majority of respondents to our poll, our forecast for last week’s game against the Raiders hit the mark.

The NFL’s wackiness, though, can foster all sorts of plausible projections. That’s the beauty of the NFL. Could the Chargers lose each of their next six games? Oh yes they could. The Rams mauled the Broncos last week. It wouldn’t be surprising if the Rams beat the Chargers on Sunday. In the other five games, the Chargers could be a betting-line underdog.

It’s the NFL. Margins are slim. Things can fall apart, or congeal, in a hurry. Take the Chiefs. They’re 7-4, a half-game ahead of the Chargers. Is it kooky to believe they’ll lose four of their final five games? They get DEN, @AZ, OAK, @PIT, SD.

On the flip side, when a third-place, AFC team was 5-7 last year, the playoffs seemed a pipe dream.