Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk predicts that the Los Angeles Chargers will take advantage of a weakened Kansas City Chiefs team and win the division for the first time in 15 years.
Florio said the following:
I could see them coming out of the gates a hot team, taking over the division, holding off the Chiefs. It’s Jim Harbaugh. It’s the Jim Harbaugh effect and I am here for it.
Los Angeles Chargers and the Harbaugh Effect
The ‘Jim Harbaugh effect’ is his ability to quickly turn around losing football teams, as he did with the San Francisco 49ers and Michigan Wolverines. The 49ers went from 6-10 in 2010 to 13-3 in Harbaugh’s first year with the team. They won nine of their first 10 and made it to the NFC Championship game. Michigan went 10-3 in 2015, their first season under Harbaugh. They finished the season ranked #12, their highest ranking since 2006.
Los Angeles Chargers 2024 Over/Under Win Total
To Florio, the “Harbaugh Effect” isn’t the only contributing factor to the Chargers ascending to the top of the AFC West. He is also predicting that the Chiefs will struggle after several deep playoff runs.
The Chargers have shown they can compete with the Chiefs. Even without Jim Harbaugh’s head coach. I think that the Chiefs they’re human. They’re human. There’s a point where it’s just too much, and you know, because they just pulled the rabbit out of their butts this past year, it might make them prone to complacency.
And;
All the way through the Super Bowl. Two straight years. There’s a cumulative physical and mental and emotional toll to the length of the season. And look at what they were last regular season. They were like Indiana Jones sliding out of the door, reaching back and grabbing their hat. Almost got their arm crushed by the door. I mean, look how close they came. The Raiders embarrassed the Kansas City chiefs in their own building on Christmas Day.
The Chargers have lost five straight games to the Cheifs. Their last win came early in the 2021 season. Since Patrick Mahomes became the Chiefs’ starting quarterback the Chargers have lost nine of the 12 matchups. Although many of those games have been competitive affairs, with the average number of points they’ve lost by is 6.3 points.
The Chargers over/under win total bet is set at 8.5 games, while the Chiefs is set at 11.5.
