Opinion: Los Angeles Chargers could be starting wild NFL playoff run

BALTIMORE – In a corner of the festive visitor’s locker room at M&T Bank Stadium late Sunday afternoon, Chargers coach Anthony Lynn was reminded of one of the distinct patterns that has emerged with his gritty team.

The Chargers smacked down the Ravens 23-17 to advance to an AFC divisional matchup at New England, extracting a measure of revenge against a team that only 15 days earlier clobbered them on their own turf.

Last week, in the regular-season finale, Los Angeles scored a payback win against the Broncos, whom they lost to in Week 11. In Week 15, they rallied to beat the Chiefs … who stung them in the season opener.

So, beating Lynn’s team is one thing. Beating them twice this season hasn’t happened.

And now there’s just one team – the crosstown Los Angeles Rams – who could possibly do it.

“That would be nice,” Lynn told USA TODAY Sports, before repeating for emphasis. “That would be nice.”

Of course, such a possibility could only occur if the two Los Angeles teams meet in Super Bowl LIII.

Go ahead, tell your Uber driver: The Chargers can afford to dream.

For one thing, they know how to travel, which is what it would take to advance in these NFL playoffs as a fifth-seeded wild card … unless, say, the Colts upset the Chiefs and the Chargers secure the AFC title game at the recently renamed Dignity Health Sports Park by beating the Patriots.

“We’re never going to count ourselves out,” running back Melvin Gordon told USA TODAY Sports as he unwrapped the tape job and removed the braces from his knees. “We just try to find a way. Now we’ve got to find a way to win in New England. That’s going to be a tough one. Those guys are no slouches. But we’ll fight to the finish.”

It was Gordon who posted a video of his lighthearted exchange with an Uber driver that went viral on social media, with the unidentified driver telling the star running back that he would “pull for Philip Rivers to get off the ground.”

Gordon insists that he wasn’t offended by the driver’s predictions of doom for the Chargers. The driver didn’t know his passenger was a Chargers star until Gordon informed him.

“It was cool,” Gordon reflected. “He’s a Dallas fan. He was selling Baltimore to get a tip. I was just trying to step out of the box and show some personality.”

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