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          Los Angeles Chargers 2022 schedule: Two AFC West games in first five days of season could tell the tale

          Justin Herbert will get a chance to get vengeance on Raiders and Chiefs in the season's first two games. Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire
          • Paul Gutierrez, ESPN Staff WriterMay 13, 2022, 12:48 AM
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              Paul Gutierrez joined NFL Nation in 2013 and serves as its Las Vegas Raiders reporter. He has a multi-platform role - writing on ESPN.com, television appearances on NFL Live and SportsCenter, and podcast and radio appearances. Before coming to ESPN, Gutierrez spent three years at CSN Bay Area as a multi-platform reporter, covering the Raiders and Oakland Athletics as well as anchoring the SportsNet Central cable news show. Gutierrez votes for the Baseball Hall of Fame and is also a member of the Professional Football Writers of America and currently serves as the PFWA's Las Vegas chapter president. He is also a member of the California Chicano News Media Association and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Gutierrez has authored three books: Tommy Davis' Tales from the Dodgers Dugout, 100 Things Raiders Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die and If These Walls Could Talk: Stories from the Raiders Sideline, Locker Room and Press Box with Lincoln Kennedy. You can follow Paul on Twitter @PGutierrezESPN
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          The Los Angeles Chargers' 2022 schedule was released along with the rest of the NFL slate Thursday.

          The 2022 NFL season will kick off on Thursday, Sept. 8 with the Buffalo Bills vs. the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. ESPN opens its schedule with Monday Night Football on Sept. 12 featuring the Denver Broncos at the Seattle Seahawks.

          The NFL expanded to 17 regular-season games last season. The final regular-season games for the 2022 season will be played Jan. 8, 2023. The playoffs begin Jan. 14 and continue through Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12 in Glendale, Arizona.

          Here's what's in store for the Chargers:

          Schedule

          Sept. 11: vs. Las Vegas

          Sept. 15: at Kansas City (TNF)

          Sept. 25: vs. Jacksonville

          Oct. 2: at Houston

          Oct. 9: at Cleveland

          Oct. 17: vs. Denver (MNF)

          Oct. 23: vs. Seattle

          Oct. 30: BYE

          Nov. 6: at Atlanta

          Nov. 13: at San Francisco (SNF)

          Nov. 20: vs. Kansas City

          Nov. 25: at Arizona

          Dec. 4: at Las Vegas

          Dec. 11: vs. Miami

          Dec. 18: vs. Tennessee

          Dec. 26: at Indianapolis (MNF)

          Jan. 1: vs. L.A. Rams (SNF)

          Jan. 7/8: at Denver

          Strength of schedule: 10th, .519

          Chargers | Tickets

          Biggest takeaway

          Talk about a make-or-break start to the season. A home opener against the Raiders, who are the most popular NFL team in Los Angeles, followed by a short week and a Thursday night game at Kansas City? Yikes. Then again, if the Chargers are as good as many, including themselves, think they are, they should relish such an opportunity. And if you're still wondering about the star power of quarterback Justin Herbert, whose new best friend should be edge rusher Khalil Mack, the Chargers are on prime time five times. Not bad for a team that has not been to the playoffs since 2018.

          Revenge game

          Remember those sideline shots of Herbert wishing out loud for a tie game in the Chargers' season finale at Las Vegas? A draw would have gotten both Los Angeles and the Raiders into the postseason. Instead, the Raiders kicked a walk-off field goal to knock the Chargers out of the playoffs. So right off the bat, the Chargers get the Raiders again. The game should be circled in neon for the Chargers, who have split four games with the Raiders since Herbert took the helm in 2020. Still, L.A. is a capital city of Raider Nation and the Silver and Black see this as a home game.

          What the oddsmakers think

          The oddsmakers have the Chargers' win total at 10. On paper, that should be doable, but fall into an 0-2 hole against a pair of AFC West foes and that climb back will be steep indeed. Win both games, and it should be smooth sailing from there on in.

          Bold prediction

          The Chargers open up 2-0, get a big jump on the rest of the AFC West and finally live up to preseason expectations by ending the Chiefs' six-year reign as division champs. Bold, yes?