There are no shortage of storylines for the Chargers this season.
The NFL on Thursday announced the 2023 regular-season schedule. Not only are the Bolts tied for the most primetime games (six), they will also take part in some of the most exciting games of the season.
The journey through the regular season will start at home for the second-straight year, this time against the Miami Dolphins — a team they saw last December. The Bolts were able to shut down the Miami offense enroute to a 23-17 win that would prove to be big in the AFC playoff race.
This year the matchup comes in the beginning of the season rather than the final stretch, but holds the same weight in what's expected to be a tight AFC field. With both offenses capable of putting points on the board, it will be an interesting chess match on defense.
But the quarterback battle specifically between 2020 first-round picks Justin Herbert and Tua Tagovailoa is why Yahoo Sports’ Frank Schwab believes this opening week battle is one of the top 10 games of the season.
Schwab wrote:
There are still concussion concerns going forward with Tagovailoa, but as long as he's on the field this matchup should be an outstanding one between two of the NFL's best young quarterbacks and a pair of AFC playoff hopefuls.
Take a detailed look at who the Bolts will face in the 2023 season!!
The Bolts will take their show on the road for two straight weeks following that season-opening clash, including their Week 3 trip to Minnesota.
This will be the Chargers first NFC opponent of the season and just like the Dolphins, the Vikings offense poses a big threat — especially wide receiver Justin Jefferson.
CBS Sports’ Jared Dubin will be interested to see a battle of defenses in this game, as he picked this contest as the best game of Week 3.
Dubin wrote:
But at least in this game, we get to watch Justin Herbert on one side of the field and Justin Jefferson on the other. With Brandon Staley trying to scheme against arguably the best receiver in the game, and with the Chargers trying to light up the scoreboard with their new offense against a now-Brian Flores-led Vikings defense trying to rebound from last season's poor effort.
The Bolts are tied for 12th in terms of strength of schedule for 2023, with plenty of games against teams who are believed to be vying for a playoff spot. Last season, big AFC wins over the Dolphins and Titans helped push the Chargers to a playoff berth.
This season? The potential is there once again.
With the team's final seven games being against AFC opponents, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler has his eyes on one specific late-season game that he believes will have big playoff implications.
Fowler wrote:
Matching up two elite quarterbacks this late in the season is bound to shake up the AFC playoff picture. The Chargers have built enough talent to contend for the AFC West crown, while the Bills are going for a fourth consecutive AFC East title. With the quarterback pantheon in the conference, securing divisional crowns seems like wise moves. Anything seems possible with the wild-card berths.
ESPN's NFL front office insider Mike Tannenbaum also called his shot on a game that he believes will have playoff implications, but his pick raised the stakes a bit more than his colleague Fowler — a Week 18 game against the Chiefs for the division title.
Tannenbaum wrote:
Can the Chargers break through and win the AFC West? This game could very well be for the division title in an epic showdown of Mahomes vs. Justin Herbert.
Bolt Up for 2023!
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