Jesse Minter, take a bow. After the shaky stretch earlier in the season, Minter and this Chargers defense have flipped a switch and become a driving force behind the Chargers 7-3 start.

Today’s Hottest Take: The Los Angeles Chargers Can Win the Entire AFC

It was just last week that I claimed, despite the Joe Alt injury, the Chargers can still win the AFC West. Allow me to amend that statement after the events of Week 10. The Los Angeles Chargers, backed by a strong defense that has found its groove over the last three weeks, allowing 10, 6, and 10 points respectively, can very well represent the AFC in Santa Clara come Super Bowl Sunday.

The entire AFC is wide open. The Chiefs are currently out of the playoffs with a 5-4 record. Baltimore, despite the return of Lamar Jackson, still find themselves scratching and clawing their way back into contention. The Bills are fresh off another head-scratching loss, this time in convincing fashion to a dismal Miami Dolphins team.

This leaves the new batch of contenders in the form of:

• A Colts team that resembles the Ryan Tannehill-led Tennessee Titans teams with their potent run game, but has started to lose steam through the air in recent weeks.

• A Patriots team that may be the most legit of the bunch with strong trenches and MVP-level play from Drake Maye, but will be asked to prove it constantly against playoff caliber competition.

• A Broncos team that, despite an 8-2 record, has looked lifeless on offense, has yet to play four quarters of football, and has a loss to the Chargers already on their record.

If there was ever a year to sell me on the Chargers winning the AFC, it’s this one.

What You Need to Know: The Chargers Thrive on the Money Down

The “money down,” also known as third down, can make or break good teams. As established last week when discussing the impact of Keenan Allen on the Chargers offense, the Bolts were first in the NFL in third-down conversion rate as of last week, and after Week 10 are now second in the NFL. They're also fourth in third down defense, making them the only team in the NFL to be a top-five team offensively and defensively on third down.

Winning as consistently as they do on the most important down in football is paramount to their success, and it is what has separated this Chargers team from those of the past. It’s also a testament to their early-down defense, as they’ve kept teams in third and medium or long, allowing them to deploy their three edge rusher set of Khalil Mack, Tuli Tuipolotu, and Odafe Oweh, which has been so effective.

Before You Go: Keenan Allen is the Best WR in Franchise History

Man. Where do I even start? Keenan Allen is the best wideout to ever suit up in the powder blue, the navy blue, the royal blue ... whatever jersey combo you want to pick, he’s the best to ever do it. This past Sunday Night, the legend grew and Keenan took another step towards Canton by breaking the franchise record for receptions in a career previously held by Antonio Gates.

Seeing Allen get mobbed by teammates, old and new, after breaking the record, almost got a tear out of me, as I sat in my powder blue No. 13 jersey thinking of the fact that this moment almost never happened after Allen was shipped to Chicago last year. I’m usually the stats and analytics guy, but when making sure I got this segment in this article I just wanted to focus on how important it was to see this generation of Chargers fan’s guy finally get the flowers he deserved because, as the Chargers official X account put it, there’s only one Keenan Allen.