According to an ESPN.com panel — and this probably won't be a shocker, Qualcomm Stadium is not among the 10 toughest NFL venues at which to play.
Eight NFL bloggers, whose individual top-10 votes were combined, unanimously skipped on the San Diego Chargers' home-field advantage while awarding the No. 1 spot to Green Bay's Lambeau Field.
All other AFC West teams received a top-five vote by at least one writer in the poll, which was released Tuesday.
Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium received one first-place vote and ranked fourth overall, the Raiders' Oakland Coliseum was slotted 10th, and Denver's Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium was 12th.
After a quick glance at the NFL’s toughest places to play, San Diego seems to miss the profile.
Two of the 10 venues are domed. Seven of the others are in either cold-weather cities or — in the case of Seattle’s Qwest Field, whose home-team fans, to their credit, also force the most false starts in the league — a rainy climate.
The only listing to break the mold is the moderately weathered Oakland at 10.
Local
The Raiders actually failed for three straight seasons to have a better home record than road record until last season; they went 5-3 at the Oakland Coliseum compared to 3-5 away. The team’s home games are also regularly blacked out due to unsold seats, a trend that hardly inspires toughness.
Its notorious fan section, “The Black Hole,” clearly counted for something.
From the Chargers' perspective, it would likely take a serious climate change to toughen up Qualcomm Stadium.
That, or a few halftime show performances by this kid:
