Chargers fly up the charts in NFL rankings roundup
Should the conversation include which NFL team from California enjoyed the best Week 6, keep in mind the Chargers.
They stopped a three-game losing streak with a victory over the defending Super Bowl champion and AFC West rival Broncos.
The win may not have been easy, but it helped the Chargers, whose future in San Diego is up in the air, soar an average of 5.4 places in the five polls sampled here (ESPN, Bleacher Report, USA Today, CBS Sports, The Associated Press). They have an average ranking of 21.6.
One takeaway from their week is the Chargers did not sell everyone with the win over the Broncos. They were ranked as high as 17th (CBS Sports) and as low as 28th (Bleacher Report).
The Raiders (an average ranking of 13.2) still lead their state counterparts, but they dropped an average of 3.2 spots.
Who took the biggest plunge? The Rams (21.4) were down an average of 4.6 spots.
The 49ers showed the least movement of any team here (-0.2), but it’s hard for a team to make much of a move when it is steamrolled by the Bills and already the owner of a 30.8 average ranking.
Sorting the data:
Raiders
Average rank: 13.2
Average change: -3.2
High/low: 12/14
From CBS Sports (No. 13): “They have major defensive issues, and now face a long road trip to Jacksonville. They can’t stop anybody.”
Rams
Average rank: 21.4
Average change: -4.6
High/low: 14/26
From ESPN (No. 26): “Case Keenum is 3-3 as a starter this season and just completed 27 of 32 passes (including 19 straight completions) in a loss to the Lions.”
Chargers
Average rank: 21/6
Average change: +5.4
High/low: 17/28
From USA Today (No. 22): “Did you know this is AFC’s highest-scoring team? If (the) Bolts can split upcoming road games (Atlanta and Denver), they could go on hot streak.”
49ers
Average rank: 30.8
Average change: -0.2
High/low: 30/31
From USA Today (No. 30): “No team is allowing more yardage on (the) ground, including five consecutive 100-yard rushers. No team has gained fewer yards through the air.”
Compiled by Jeff Caraska
This story was originally published October 18, 2016 at 8:09 PM with the headline "Chargers fly up the charts in NFL rankings roundup."