Now settled in LA, Chargers eye Super Bowl contention

CARSON, Calif. (AP) — The tumult and uncertainty of the Los Angeles Chargers’ relocation season is finally a memory.

Now it’s time to find out whether the Chargers truly left their San Diego identity back in San Diego.

A franchise with one Super Bowl appearance in its entire history and one playoff victory in the past decade has one of its most promising teams in many years. Coach Anthony Lynn’s second roster is stacked with talent, fully settled in Orange County and reaping the benefits of coaching staff continuity.

Everything is in place for the Chargers to make a playoff run, perhaps even a Super Bowl surge. But after years of unfulfilled potential and catastrophic injury setbacks, even the Chargers themselves are waiting to see how the season develops before pronouncing themselves contenders.

“It’s interesting, because it’s been a while,” quarterback Philip Rivers said of external expectations of success. “I’ve been on some teams here that had those expectations, and we went out and did it year after year there for a while. It’s been a long time, though. There aren’t many guys that have been through that on this team.”

The Chargers know what they’ve got, however. It’s tough to identify many weak spots on their roster, and they have everything from a favorable schedule to a wide-open AFC West working in their favor.

They’ve also got Lynn, offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt and defensive coordinator Gus Bradley in charge for the second straight season, making them the only team in the division with that much coaching continuity.

“I can say I definitely feel a little bit more comfortable, knowing what to expect,” Lynn said. “We’re not moving, and not living out of boxes. We’re definitely more comfortable, but the expectations have not changed. Not one bit.”

Los Angeles is loaded with skill-position talent, including Rivers throwing to Pro Bowl receiver Keenan Allen and several strong targets in the NFL’s best passing offense of 2017. Workhorse running back Melvin Gordon is healthy, and the offensive line got a boost with the addition of hard-nosed center Mike Pouncey.

The Chargers have had other outstanding rosters in the past quarter-century, but none of them made it to the Super Bowl. This team clearly has a shot, but don’t expect many Bolts to get that far ahead of themselves.