Bolts From The Blue
The Chargers took a huge step forward from 2023 to 2024, going from five wins to 11 under Jim Harbaugh. How much further can they progress with another offseason?
Not many teams during the 2024 NFL season were able to increase their win total as much as the Chargers did from the previous season. Going from 5 to 11 wins is no small feat, especially given the offseason moves they were forced to make in light of their unfortunate cap situation at the time. In fact, only two teams saw a larger increase in their win total: The Washington Commanders (4 to 12) and Minnesota Vikings (7 to 14).
After such a large leap from 2023 to 2024, how much further could the Chargers feasibly jump again in 2025? Well, some think they could be poised for one of the bigger leaps in the league, yet again.
CBS Sports’ Jeff Kerr recently recently put together a group of five teams he believes are “poised to take a major leap” this upcoming season. They were joined by the Patriots, Seahawks, 49ers, and Panthers. The Seahawks join the Chargers as the only other team on this list who ended the season with a record over .500. However, they were the only team to win 10 games and not make this year’s postseason.
So what does Kerr think of the Chargers and where they stand going forward? Let’s take a look:
“The Chargers were one of the biggest surprises in the NFL last season, emerging as a playoff team in Jim Harbaugh’s first season at the helm. Harbaugh used the tried-and-true formula of a strong run game and good defense to win football games, as the Chargers upped their win total from five wins to 11 in Year 1 with Harbaugh.”
“What does Harbaugh have in store for Year 2? The Chargers will have $63.4 million in available cap space to improve the roster, mainly on the interior of the offensive line and at tight end. Los Angeles could also use some more depth on the defensive line, along with another wideout for Justin Herbert.”
“This should be a playoff team in 2025, and could win a playoff game with the right offseason moves.”
I think that’s where the bar will sit for the Chargers going forward. They should be a playoff team year-in and year-out as long as they continue to play up to the standard they’ve set for themselves. In the past, however, that’s been a tough standard to stick to. When Anthony Lynn won 12 games in 2018, he followed it with a seven-win season the next year. Brandon Staley followed his 10-win campaign with the five-win blunder that led him to his firing.
If Harbaugh truly wants to take the Chargers where they want to go, they’ll have to start channelling the late 2000s when they finished with a winning record six times during the seven-year stretch from 2004-2010. Sure, it helped that they...
