3 Games I’m Circling This Upcoming Season for The Chargers
By: Shaun Moore
Tags: Football, Sports, NFL, Chargers, 2021 Trends

Chargers running out to an empty SoFi Stadium in which this year will be filled with fans. (AP photo/Ashley Landis)

Well folks, we are officially less than 120 days away from the 2021–2022 NFL season kicking off. A new season and a first of its own, as this will be the first season with an extra game added to the regular season; bringing the total to 18.

With the NFL schedule releasing this past Wednesday, football fans around the world began to rejoice, and the ticket sales started flying.

Naturally when the release happens, fans, analyst, and players start to look ahead and see what big matchups lie ahead for the season. And that’s what I’m going to shift into now for my boys.

In a year (unbiasedly) where I expect Justin Herbert and this team to take off, here are the three games I have circled for the Chargers.

Week 3 at the Kansas City Chiefs: Sept. 26, 1p.m ET (CBS)

Joey Bosa with a diving effort to reach Patrick Mahomes (chiefswire.usatoday.com)

Ah it seems like yesterday when the Bolts played the Chiefs for the first time last year, and to our surprise it was a game we’d never forget. This was Justin Herbert’s first game (I guess you can say starting due to the circumstances) and he quickly put the NFL on notice.

Now, this year we are expecting a shoot out between two of the top QBs in the league, the other of course being Super Bowl champ and league MVP Patrick Mahomes.

The Chargers split the season series last year 1–1 to the Chiefs, even though the last game some starters for KC didn’t play but, a win is a win. This year the Chargers will get the chance to show early that they no longer want to take the backseat to KC. A key division win here will set the Chargers up nicely here early in the season.

2. Week 5 vs the Cleveland Browns: Oct. 10, 4:05 p.m ET (CBS)

Keenan Allen making an amazing reception against the Browns secondary. (Scott Varley/Daily Breeze)

The last time the Chargers played the Browns was back in 2018, where we saw Philip Rivers (11–20, 207 YDS, 2 TD, 1 INT) and Melvin Gordon (18 CAR, 132 YDS, 3 TD) dissect the Browns defense in a 38–14 win.

Three years later, these two teams are completely different. These are not your father’s Browns, they are legit Super Bowl contenders coming out of the AFC.

If the Chargers want to establish themselves as a contenders, they have to show up at SoFi with the same energy they need for the Chiefs. Both of the teams here tout a scary defense, the key to this game will be to see which QB (Herbert or Mayfield) will be able to break through the opponent's defense to pull out the win.

Two weeks after the Chiefs game, if the Chargers able to pull out a win here, look out the rest of the AFC.

3. Week 11 vs the Pittsburgh Steelers (SNF): Nov. 21, 8:20 p.m ET (NBC)\

Devin Bush coming off a Chargers turnover (Jake Roth/USA Today Sports)

Death, taxes, and the Chargers playing the Steelers on Sunday Night Football are the only things guaranteed in life. Although the last time these teams played, it was definitely it seemed like death was more so involved.

Steeler fans and their “Terrible Towels” rolled into Dignity Health Sports Park which was supposed to be the Chargers “home” and completely flooded the stands (as you can see above, no we we’re not in Pittsburgh). Shockingly it ended only a one possession win for the Steelers, but the beginning of that game for the Bolts was absolutely ugly.

Fast forward to now, where I have this game circled as one of the last few challenges the Chargers face towards the end of the season. With the added week, this game will start to shape the AFC playoff landscape.

This Pittsburgh defense is and will be still one of the best in the league, and they will cause turnovers. The Chargers have to limit those in order to win this game.

It’s always fun when the Steelers come around on the schedule, and this one shouldn’t be any different. Mark this as new Guard Matt Feiler’s revenge game too.