Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images The Chargers broke through to a top-ten pick projection, but with New England on deck, that’s hopefully a one-week trend Good morning, Bolts From the Blue. We had another really, really rough one last night. Going into this season, I assumed the realistic floor for this team was at least a record of 9-8. There’s just simply too much talent on either side of the ball to not end the season with a winning record, even if it wasn’t enough to slip you into the playoffs. The upside - given all that talent - was certainly there! The Chargers were pushing their chips in to win NOW, and despite the concerns for what this could mean for the franchise’s immediate future, at least we’d have a killer on-field product for this 2023 push. Well, the Chargers pushed a little too hard, and have ended up falling flat on their face. While I’m still cheering for them to win every week, a small silver lining can be found in our current draft position. If the season ended today, the Chargers would be picking ninth in the 2024 Draft. This is looking like an extremely promising draft, and the thought of landing a top-ten pick is decent consolation for the pain we’ve endured this season. However, we’re on to New England this week. Although we weren’t expecting a “W” against the Ravens, this is as beatable of a Patriots team as we have ever seen. Bill Belichick has often found ways to have some of his best games against us, but it’s hard to image his struggling offense outscoring Justin Herbert and Keenan Allen next week. And now, for today’s daily links: Chargers News: Eric Smith provides five key takeaways from the loss to the Ravens (Chargers.om) Beat writers for the Ravens and Chargers break down how Baltimore bested L.A. (The Athletic) Here is the best of social media after the Chargers loss (Chargers Wire) Alex Insdorf covers breaks down Staley’s decision to keep Johnston out of the game after his rib injury (Chargers Wire) NFL News: Hurts leads the Eagles to another impressive comeback win (ESPN) Lamar Jackson becomes the fastest QB to reach 5,000 rushing yards... against the Chargers (Sporting News) The Chargers have broken into a top-ten NFL Draft slot for 2024 (Sporting News) No surprise here - Travis Kelce becomes the “swiftest” tight end to reach 11,000 yards (NFL.com) Shaquille Leonard is scheduled to visit the already dominant Cowboys defense on Tuesday (NFL.com) Chargers get a “C” in John Breech’s Week 12 grades (CBS NFL) Source: https://www.boltsfromtheblue.com/2023/1 ... ahlil-mack
