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Chargers playoff picture: Odds, remaining schedule, AFC West division standings

Jacob Camenker   Paste BN
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The Los Angeles Chargers made the most notable hire of the 2024 NFL offseason when they hired Jim Harbaugh as their new head coach.

When he jumped back into the NFL, Harbaugh was fresh off winning a national championship at Michigan. It had been a decade since the San Francisco 49ers fired him following the 2014 NFL season, and he was ready to show that his 44-19-1 record and appearance in Super Bowl 47 were no fluke.

Thus far, Harbaugh is achieving that goal. He has turned the Chargers from a middling team into a legitimate contender, sporting one of the NFL's best defenses and an offense into which Justin Herbert is growing rapidly. He has quickly erased some of the pains of the Brandon Staley era and could be on track to earning Los Angeles its first playoff win since 2018.

Harbaugh can't afford to take his foot off the gas, however. The Chargers are facing a tough stretch in their schedule, beginning with the "Harbaugh Bowl" in Week 12 between Jim and his brother John Harbaugh's Baltimore Ravens. Any slip-ups from Los Angeles could allow the logjam of wild-card contenders in the AFC to catch up to the Chargers and create chaos over the season's final weeks.

Here's what you need to know about the Chargers' playoff odds, their remaining schedule, and their position in the AFC playoff picture for Week 12.

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Chargers playoff odds

The Chargers have odds of -1200 to make the playoffs entering Week 12, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. That implied probability gives Los Angeles a 92.31% chance to qualify for the postseason.

Chargers remaining schedule

The Chargers' seven remaining opponents have a combined winning percentage of exactly .500, per Tankathon. That is tied for the 13th-toughest remaining schedule of the NFL's 32 teams and the New York Giants.

Los Angeles faces a particularly difficult stretch between Weeks 12 and 14, during which it will play opponents with a combined record of 22-10. That includes their much-anticipated Week 14 rematch with the Chiefs.

Below is a full look at Los Angeles' schedule:

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AFC West standings

The Chargers aren't expected to win their division. Los Angeles has odds of just +750 to take down the AFC West. That gives them an 11.76% chance of overtaking the Chiefs in the race to top the division.

Below is a full look at the AFC West standings entering Week 12:

  1. Kansas City Chiefs (10-1)
  2. Los Angeles Chargers (7-3)
  3. Denver Broncos (6-5)
  4. Las Vegas Raiders (2-8)

The Chargers are currently two games behind the Chiefs in the divisional race but lost to them 17-10 in Week 4. That gives Kansas City the tiebreaker advantage over Los Angeles.

The Chargers can rebut if they beat the Chiefs in their Week 14 matchup. Even so, Kansas City has a better divisional record (3-0) than Los Angeles (2-1), so catching the Chiefs is an uphill climb. The Chargers' first focus should be on putting some distance between themselves and the Broncos in the wild-card race.

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NFL playoff picture Week 12

AFC

  1. Kansas City Chiefs (10-1, AFC West leaders)
  2. Buffalo Bills (9-2, AFC East leaders)
  3. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-3, AFC North leaders)
  4. Houston Texans (7-5, AFC South leaders)
  5. Los Angeles Chargers (7-3, wild card No. 1)
  6. Baltimore Ravens (7-4, wild card No. 2)
  7. Denver Broncos (6-5, wild card No. 3)

In the hunt: Miami Dolphins (5-6), Indianapolis Colts (5-7), Cincinnati Bengals (4-7).

NFC

  1. Detroit Lions (10-1, NFC North leaders)
  2. Philadelphia Eagles (8-2, NFC East leaders)
  3. Arizona Cardinals (6-4, NFC West leaders)
  4. Atlanta Falcons (6-5, NFC South leaders)
  5. Minnesota Vikings (9-2, wild card No. 1)
  6. Green Bay Packers (7-3, wild card No. 2)
  7. Washington Commanders (7-5, wild card No. 3)

In the hunt: Los Angeles Rams (5-5), Seattle Seahawks (5-5), San Francisco 49ers (5-5), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-6), New Orleans Saints (4-7), Chicago Bears (4-7).

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