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Chargers’ Super Bowl Odds Fade to +2000 After Week 2 Loss to Lions

Robert Duff

by Robert Duff in NFL Football

Updated Mar 26, 2020 · 2:36 PM PDT

Can Philip Rivers manage to finally capture that elusive Super Bowl? Photo from @AroundTheNFL (Twitter)
  • The odds of the Los Angeles Chargers winning Super Bowl 53 climbed to +2000 after Sunday’s loss to the Detroit Lions
  • The Chargers were at +1600 prior to the game
  • Last season, the Lions beat the eventual Super Bowl champion New England Patriots in Week 3

Should you give up on the Los Angeles Chargers after Sunday’s 13-10 road loss to the Detroit Lions? Maybe. Maybe not.

The sportsbooks are less sold on the long-term value of the Chargers than they were prior to Sunday’s setback. Losing to the Lions has a way of doing that.

Sportsbooks now list LA’s AFC squad at +2000 to win Super Bowl 54. Prior to Sunday’s loss, the 1-1 Chargers were at +1600 in the Super Bowl odds.

Super Bowl 54 Odds

Team Over/Under
New England Patriots +333
Kansas City Chiefs +700
Los Angeles Rams +1000
Dallas Cowboys +1200
New Orleans Saints +1200
Green Bay Packers +1400
Chicago Bears +1600
Philadelphia Eagles +1600
Baltimore Ravens +2000
Los Angeles Chargers +2000
Minnesota Vikings +2000

*Odds taken on 09/16/19. 

A point of reference – last season, the Lions posted a resounding 26-10 home-field victory over the New England Patriots in Week 3. That didn’t prevent the Patriots from winning Super Bowl 53.

Miscues Plague Chargers

Mistakes were again the nemesis of the Chargers as they fell to the Lions.

A touchdown pass from quarterback Philip Rivers to running back Austin Ekeler was wiped out by a holding penalty. A pass interference infraction against Detroit’s Darius Slay in the end zone gave L.A. the ball on the 1-yard line. But Ekeler fumbled trying to jump over the pile to score and the Lions recovered.

The dagger was when Slay intercepted Rivers in the end zone on LA’s final drive with 1:10 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Punter Ty Long, attempting to fill the shoes of injured kicker Michael Badgley, missed field goals of 39 and 41 yards.

In their opener, the Bolts blew a 24-9 lead and required overtime to get past the Indianapolis Colts 30-24.

Defensive Injuries Mounting

LA took the field Sunday minus injured linebacker Denzel Perryman. Now they’ve lost safety Adrian Phillips to a broken forearm. Phillips was replacing safety Derwin James, on injured reserve after undergoing surgery on a fractured foot.

Clearly, the weakest link in the LA defense is the injury-depleted secondary. That’s not a recipe for success when the Chargers have to get past Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs to win the AFC West.

Cutting Corners Proving Costly

The Chargers opted not to pay holdout runinng back Melvin Gordon, who ran for 885 yards and 10 TDs last season. It didn’t bother them in their Week 1 win over the Colts as Ekeler rambled for 154 all-purpose yards and three TDs.

Sunday, he was good for 133 all-purpose yards and a TD but his goal-line fumble was costly.

Teams seeking the Super Bowl pay their stars. That’s what the Dallas Cowboys did with Ezekiel Elliott.

Why an NFL team wouldn’t sign a legitimate kicker and would also ask their punter to perform double duty, something that’s been out of vogue almost as long as straight-on toe-style kickers, is also befuddling.

Going on the cheap isn’t a good look. And the Chargers paid for it in the loss to the Lions.

Lightning Won’t Strike

It would be easy to write off Sunday’s debacle as a one-off if the Bolts hadn’t also nearly bungled away their Week 1 triumph. Then again, they started 1-2 last season and ended up 12-4 and an AFC Wild Card.

That might happen again but there isn’t a Super Bowl 54 win in the Chargers’ future. Don’t make that bet.

You’ve got better odds of being struck by Lightning.

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