It should come as no surprise (unless you’ve just awakened from a four-month coma) that the NFL record-setting 16-0 New England Patriots (16-0) are the favorite to win the AFC Championship with 4/9 odds at most sportsbooks. Next in line are the Indianapolis Colts at 3/1 odds to win the AFC. The Colts not only won the AFC last year but they went on to win the Super Bowl. The Jacksonville Jaguars are at 7/1 odds to win the AFC and pulling up the rear are the San Diego Chargers at 8/1 odds to win the AFC.

Can you imagine if the Chargers go on to take the AFC…and then the Super Bowl? Some analysts are saying that it’s a definite possibility. Jarrett Bell of USA Today, for example, really likes the Chargers. Here’s what he had to say when asked if San Diego can continue their rebound trend to win the Super Bowl:

“The Chargers — stunned in their playoff opener after posting an NFL-best 14-2 record last season — are positioned to make amends for last year’s crushing setback. San Diego brings NFL rushing champ LaDainian Tomlinson, a defense that leads the league in takeaways (48) and a six-game winning streak. Like Pittsburgh and Indianapolis the last two years, the Chargers (who started 1-3) are flying under the radar with low expectations and inconsistent young quarterback Philip Rivers. Can they win in Indianapolis and Foxborough, Mass.? Many of the players remain from the 2005 team that ended the Colts’ bid for a perfect season and dealt the Patriots a defeat (41-17) in October. Yet a key change is coach Norv Turner, whose predecessor, Marty Schottenheimer, was fired in February because of repeated flops in the playoffs.”