NFL Power Rankings: Chargers take serious tumble following Week 3 loss

Travis Wakeman

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NFL Power Rankings: Chargers take serious tumble following Week 3 loss image

NFL power rankings don't mean much in the grand scheme of things, but they are directly reflective of how things are going for a team. The Los Angeles Chargers were hovering around the top five of most power rankings following their dismantling of the Carolina Panthers which got them out to a 2-0 start. 

People were buying into what Jim Harbaugh was doing, and rightfully so. But things blew up for the team in a big way in Week 3's loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. That forced Vinnie Iyer of The Sporting News to drop the Chargers down to No. 13 in this week's edition of the power rankings, down seven slots from last week. 

That is a big drop for the team, but it signifies a big loss. Not only did the Chargers lose the game, but the more concerning aspect of the defeat was all of the injuries the team suffered. In addition to Justin Herbert having to leave the game, Rashawn Slater, Joe Alt, and Joey Bosa all left injured as well. 

The Chargers won't have much time to regroup as they face the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs this week. If all of these injuries linger and prove to be serious, there is little doubt that the Chargers' season takes a turn for the worse. 

Here's what Iyer said in his summary:

"Justin Herbert's injury woes have derailed the great momentum of Jim Harbaugh's offense, and Joey Bosa getting hurt had a similar effect on the defense in Pittsburgh. The timing is bad ahead of facing the Chiefs."

Iyer's power rankings this week have six AFC teams ranked ahead of the Chargers (Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Houston, Baltimore and the N.Y. Jets). 

The Chargers play the Chiefs before having what will be a much-needed bye week. They then play at Denver and at Arizona. These will be some trying times for this team and could go a long way in how far it goes in 2024. 

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Travis Wakeman

Travis Wakeman Photo

Travis Wakeman has been covering the NFL since 2012 when he started with Bleacher Report. After reporting about the Broncos there until 2016, he joined the FanSided network as a site expert covering the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers while simultaneously covering the Broncos at Broncos Wire when that site launched. He then took over the Broncos site at FanSided in March 2020 and covered the team there until spring of 2024. A lifelong Broncos fan and fan of the game, Travis is filled with sometimes useless NFL knowledge, but it always serves him well in any trivia contest. You can follow him on Twitter/X @traviswakeman10.