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The Chargers have had some elite teams over their years in San Diego and Los Angeles, but have yet to win the ultimate prize. Winning a Super Bowl is not easy, and the Bolts have only had a handful of opportunities to do so since coming over from the AFL to the NFL.
The Chargers dominated the AFC West in the 2000s. Because they didn’t make much noise in the postseason due to Tom Brady, it goes unnoticed. Now that the Kansas City Chiefs own the AFC West, those old Chargers teams don’t get recognized for their elite play.
We will break down the teams for you. Let’s take a look at the 10 greatest Chargers teams of all time.
Honorable mentions: 1979, 1982 (shortened season – Dan Fouts was elite), 1992, and 2013.
The 1963 Chargers count. Just because they were not in the NFL at the time doesn’t mean they weren’t the same organization. San Diego beat out the Oakland Raiders for the best record in the AFL West and ended up dominating the AFL Championship by the score of 51-10 over the Boston Patriots. Tobin Rote and NFL Hall of Famer Lance Alworth formed an elite duo. This team had 11 All-AFL players.
This team comes in at No. 10 all-time in franchise history.
In 2008, San Diego ended 8-8 in the regular season. They used an incredible playoff performance from Darren Sproles to defeat Payton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts in the Wild Card round for the second straight season. In the game against the Colts, LaDainian Tomlinson did not play much, dealing with a hamstring injury, and Sproles stepped up in the biggest game of his career. Sproles scored two touchdowns, including the game-winning 22-yard run.
However, the Bolts would lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers a week later, 35-24. This team was talented, but they underachieved in the regular season.
Ah, yes, the year the Chargers drafted Eli Manning. Instead of that happening, he was traded to the New York Giants for Philip Rivers. Rivers joined a QB room with Drew Brees, Doug Flutie, and Cleo Lemon. Marty Schottenheimer won NFL Coach of the Year with a 12-4 record, but the Chargers fell short to the New York Jets 20-17 in overtime in the Wild Card Round.
LT and Antonio Gates were two of the four All-Pros, but this team was not as talented as some of the teams that would follow.
The 2018 Los Angeles Chargers have been the only real contender since moving away from San Diego. They finished 12-4 and had a stacked roster that contained three All-Pro players (five positions in total) with seven Pro Bowlers. Philip Rivers’ final playoff win for the Chargers came against rookie Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card round, 23-17. The next week, Rivers lost to Tom Brady and the Pats for the final time, 41-28....
