Los Angeles Chargers

OPEN THREAD: Chargers vs. Panthers

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers travel to Charlotte to take on the Carolina Panthers. Here is the open thread.

Both teams are having a down year. The Chargers, who are in last place in the AFC West, fell to 5-7 after blowing another second-half lead against the Tampa Buccaneers. The Panthers, who are in last place in the NFC South, fell to 4-8 after getting blown out by the Seattle Seahawks.

It’s not official, but it’s highly unlikely that the Chargers will make the playoffs. With four games left, they would have to win out and get help from other teams–and that’s just too much to ask of.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t still root for our beloved Bolts. It’s tough to see the “best 5-7 in football,” per NFL.com, lose so many close games. They had a chance to be one of the better teams in the league, but injuries, bad coaching and costly turnovers really hurt this team.

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With that said, let’s take a look at the inactives for Sunday’s game:

Chargers' inactives vs. Panthers: CB Flowers (concussion), RB Hillman, NT Carrethers, TE Cleveland, C Tuerk, OT Burwell, WR Davis. pic.twitter.com/yMNa5aq024

— Michael Gehlken (@sdutGehlken) December 11, 2016

To nobody’s surprise, cornerback Brandon Flowers is out with a concussion. He hasn’t practiced and quite honestly, I don’t think he’s going to be seeing the field for the remainder of the season. Casey Hayward, who leads the league in interceptions, is going to have to keep holding down the fort

The good news is that both rookie linebacker Jatavis Brown and left guard Orlando Franklin, whom were both questionable going into this game, are active. Brown missed several games with a knee injury, and luckily Korey Toomer has stepped up and made big plays. The trio of Denzel Perryman, Toomer and Brown is going to be exciting to watch.

The offense line remains intact, even though they’ve been playing at a below-average level. Hopefully, they can keep Philip Rivers upright and create space for Melvin Gordon to run, because the Panthers’ front seven is no joke.

Again, many people will hope the Bolts will lose so they can get a better draft pick. Win or lose, it should still be an interesting game to watch.

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