The Chargers' playoff odds already took a major hit after their Week 1 loss to the Cardinals, making their Week 2 matchup against the Raiders even more important.
ESPN Analytics gives the Chargers a 69% chance of winning the game. If they take care of business, Los Angeles' odds of making the playoffs rise from 30% to 35%.
However, if they drop their Week 2 contest against Las Vegas, their playoff odds drop from 30% to 19%.
With a current 30% chance to make the playoffs, the Chargers are on the outside looking in at the AFC playoff picture. They have the ninth-best odds, putting them just outside the seven teams that currently hold playoff spots.
All hope won't be lost if the Chargers lose in Week 2; however, the odds won't be in their favor if they
go down 0-2.
Only about 10.1% of teams that started the season 0-2 since the 1970 merger reached the playoffs. That is 43 of 422 teams over that period.
Last season, the Texans finished 12-5 after starting the season 0-3. While it's certainly possible for the Chargers, it's not a position they want to put themselves in, especially with the gauntlet of a schedule that awaits them after Week 2.
From Weeks 3 through 10, the Chargers face six of seven teams who made the playoffs last year. The only team that didn't make the playoffs is the Chiefs, and they looked like their old selves on Monday Night Football against the Denver Broncos.
According to DraftKings, the Chargers are home favorites at -6.5.
This article originally appeared on Chargers Wire: Chargers face major playoff implications in Week 2 against Raiders
