This Sunday's bye might have helped the Los Angeles Chargers' health. But it didn't much for their standings.
Coming off last weekend's embarrassing blowout to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Bolts didn't play this weekend. They were hoping, however, that their place in the AFC Playoffs standing would be on the move with some favorite results in Week 12 games.
Alas, of the four games that had influence on the Chargers only one went their way. Two of the teams they needed to lose won in dramatic fashion, in overtime.
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The Kansas City Chiefs were one play from falling to 5-6 and essentially out of the playoffs, but rallied to beat the Indianapolis Colts. Rashee Rice made a fingertrip grab of a high pass on 4th-and-3 to keep a drive alive that forced overtime before they beat the Colts, 23-20. K.C. trailed 20-9 with nine minutes remaining. The Chiefs, who have won the AFC West nine consecutive seasons, now trail the Chargers by only one game.
The lowly Jets jumped to a 7-0 lead but never really threatened an upset. The surging Ravens, which eventually won 23-10, captured their fifth in a row and are now tied with the Steelers atop at the AFC North at 6-5. One of those teams could be in the mix for a Wild Card berth with the Chargers.
The Jags got a 52-yard field goal in overtime to survive Arizona, boosting their record to 7-4. They now trail the Colts by just one game in the AFC South, but could wind up fighting the Chargers for a Wild Card.
The only help the Chargers got on Sunday was Chicago's 31-28 win over Pittsburgh. The Steelers dropped into a tie in the AFC North with the Ravens. The Chargers own the tiebreaker due to their Week 10 head-to-head win.
The Chargers can improve their own standing next week, when they are expected to get back star rookie running back Omarion Hampton against the Las Vegas Raiders Nov. 30 at SoFi Stadium.
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1. New England Patriots 10-2
2. Denver Broncos 9-2
3. Indianapolis Colts 9-3
4. Baltimore Ravens 6-5
5. Los Angeles Chargers 7-4
6. Jacksonville Jaguars 7-4
7. Buffalo Bills 7-4
As it stands, the Chargers are the No. 1 Wild Card by winning the tiebreaker over the Jags and Bills because of a better record in conference games.
Omarion Hampton
Omarion Hampton / Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
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