Following the Chargers' victory over the AFC South leading Houston Texans, the Bolts have jumped up in all NFL power rankings. They've averaged a five spot increase across the board.
ESPN.com has moved the Bolts from the bottom third of the league (25th) to the top half (15th), which was the biggest increase of any team this week. ESPN was not alone in moving the Chargers sharply up the list as they also saw the biggest increase on CBS' rankings, moving from 20th to 15th. Pete Prisco of CBS.com had this to say:
"They aren't done yet. This is a team nobody will want to see in the playoffs -- if they can get there."
That statement seems to be the underlying feeling by most experts – San Diego is a team that is capable of winning any game they play. Elliot Harrison of NFL.com accurately describes this by relating the Bolts to Rocky Balboa as he ranks them 16th:
"Peg the Chargers any way you want. Peg them as a 5-6 team if you'd like. Or peg them, more accurately, as roster beset by injuries that hasn't gone down. San Diego is Balboa in 'Rocky II,' absorbing blow after blow from flashier opponents, and then climbing up the ropes from what you thought was the final knockdown one more time. Perhaps there isn't enough time to make it to the postseason. But with a scoring differential of 313-291 -- and a fresh road win over a division leader -- San Diego sure doesn't feel like a losing team to me."
