The NFL will announce the regular season schedule for 2019 on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET. We already know who the Chargers’ opponents will be, but just don’t know the dates and times.
From that list of opponents, we can predict which games might get national attention on primetime television. Los Angeles played in three nationally televised games in 2018.
Given the success that the team had by going 12-4 and making it into the playoffs, it’s likely that they will get some consideration to play at least the same amount of games in front of the entire nation.
With that, here are three games that could be placed on a Thursday, Sunday or Monday night.
At Denver Broncos
The Chargers and Broncos always seem to face off on national television, most recently on Monday Night Football to kickoff the 2017 season. The NFL has definitely favored the rivalry between both AFC teams.
In 2018, the two teams split. Denver took care of business on the road on a game-winning field goal by Brandon McManus as time expired. A month later, Los Angeles got their revenge by defeating the Broncos in the last week of the regular season, 23-9.
Denver doesn’t possess the same amount of talent like they used to in the past, but they should showcase a new team that’s in the process of rebuilding. Even though they have a new quarterback in Joe Flacco, the team could have their starter if they address it in the draft next week.
Regardless of who’s on the roster, look for this one to possibly find it’s way on Monday night because history shows that the league won’t shy away from this matchup.
At Kansas City Chiefs
The Chargers’ Week 15 matchup against the Chiefs may have gone down as one of the best games in the 2018 season. Los Angeles traveled to Kansas City as a part of Thursday Night Football to end a nine-game losing drought on a Philip Rivers pass to Mike Williams on a two-point conversion as seconds expired.
The Bolts and Chiefs appear to be the frontrunners for the AFC West title and it wouldn’t be all that surprising if the two teams are battling it out for the crown, neck and neck throughout the whole season as it’s likely they will have similar records.
The Chargers and Chiefs are set to play in Mexico City as a part of the International Series. The Bolts will be home team, which means that the two teams are going to be playing in Arrowhead Stadium, making this more likely that it will be nationally televised.
Vs. Green Bay Packers
The Packers had a league-high five primetime games in 2018. The NFL has seemed to favor Green Bay playing under the lights in recent history.
The last time the two teams met was in 2015 when the Chargers traveled to Lambeau Field. It was a close game throughout, but the Packers ended up coming out victorious. Now, Green Bay will travel to the west coast to face Los Angeles.
This matchup on national television is a possibility because the league loves Aaron Rodgers and the team’s ability to draw television ratings. But it wouldn’t be surprising to not see it as one when the schedule is announced. The reason for that is because the NFL is iffy on showing a primetime game in a stadium that seats less than 30,000.
If the two teams were playing in the Chargers’ new stadium, which opens up in 2020, then I’d feel a bit more confident in this being a stronger possibility. But regardless, a Rivers-Rodgers matchup on primetime T.V. could be too enticing to pass up showing in front of all football fans.
