Chargers clinch first playoff berth since 2018 season

The Los Angeles have officially ended their playoff drought.

With their 20-3 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Monday night, the Los Angeles Chargers did their part to clinch an AFC wild-card berth following some favorable results in Week 16.

Losses by the New York Jets, New England Patriots and, perhaps most fittingly the Las Vegas Raiders, put the Chargers in place to clinch against the Colts, and now they will soon be playing on the road during Super Wild Card Weekend.

Bound for the playoffs for the first time since 2018, the Chargers (9-6) notched their second three-game win streak of the 2022 season in order to get there. It will be the Chargers’ first postseason appearance under second-year head coach Brandon Staley and with star quarterback Justin Herbert, who was drafted with the No. 6 overall pick in 2020.

The Chargers will play into mid-January despite losing a handful of key players due to injury this season, but there’s a chance pass rusher Joey Bosa (groin) and left tackle Rashawn Slater (biceps) will be able to return now that L.A. has clinched a wild-card berth.

Staley’s squad is familiar with win-or-go-home scenarios despite not having been in the postseason after notching consecutive winning seasons. The Chargers were a Week 18 win or tie away from making the playoffs in 2021, but lost to the rival Raiders in an overtime thriller.

One wild-card berth remains up for grabs in the AFC after L.A. punched its ticket on Monday night, and there’s destined to be another pseudo playoff game before the regular season’s end.

The Miami Dolphins (8-7) currently sit just ahead of five teams holding 7-8 records: the Patriots, Jets, Steelers, Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars. While the Titans and Jaguars take aim at capturing the AFC South title, Week 17’s Dolphins-Patriots matchup portends the first domino to fall in the remaining wild-card picture.

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