Rivers expects Chargers to win AFC West
The San Diego Chargers are coming off an abysmal 4-12 season, but Philip Rivers maintains grand expectations for his club.
Competing in a division that boasts the Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos, a team that strung together an 11-game winning streak in the Kansas City Chiefs, and an Oakland Raiders club that clearly won the offseason, Rivers remains undeterred.
"We lost all six games (last year), so we can't put ourselves up there yet," Rivers said to ESPN's Eric D. Williams. "But I do think that our expectation is to win the division. Now, that's our expectation and what we believe in here - we can go from the very bottom to winning the division."
Although he expects the Chargers to win the AFC West, Rivers did acknowledge the caliber of competition.
"It's got a chance to be one of the more salty, tough divisions in the league," Rivers said. "Four or five years ago, it was regarded by many to be a weak division. And now I think, shoot, it's arguably one of the best.
"We know what Denver's been. They won a Super Bowl last year, and have been the division champs for a handful of years in a row. I think they're still the top dog until they aren't. Obviously, Kansas City got in last year, won a playoff game and won their last however many in a row. And Oakland is kind of the hot team people are talking about."
Reeling from their worst season since 2003, the Chargers possess an opportunity to shock the world in 2016.