Chiefs Need to Find Rhythm Early Against Chargers
The Kansas City Chiefs’ offense struggled against the Los Angeles Chargers in each of their two matchups last season. Patrick Mahomes has only thrown for under 200 yards three times in his career, and two of those games were against the Chargers in 2019.
Mahomes had decent games against the Chargers in 2018, the first year he took over as the Chiefs' starter, but still wasn’t overpowering in those performances. Chiefs fans may think fondly of his first start of 2018, the season-opener against the Chargers, as he threw four touchdown passes that day. However, he was 15-for-27 with 256 yards passing. Again, not terrible by any means, but it wasn’t like many of his other more-efficient performances of that 2018 season.
The Chiefs’ second game in 2018 against the Chargers, KC's only loss against an AFC West opponent in the Mahomes era, was a nailbiter that was lost on a last-second touchdown and two-point conversion. Mahomes and the offense struggled to move the chains down the stretch in the 4th quarter of that game, which led to the Chargers’ comeback.
In 2019, the Chiefs faced the Chargers in Mexico City for their first matchup of the year. The field was a mess and it was a game where Andy Reid wasn’t taking a ton of chances downfield as he likely didn’t want to see any of his players getting hurt just before the stretch run of their season. The Chiefs ran the ball 27 times, a season-high. The Chiefs defense forced Philip Rivers into four interceptions, one that sealed the game late in the fourth quarter. Yes, even the great Patrick Mahomes needs to be bailed out by his defense every once in a while.
The final game of the regular season matched these two opponents up once again. This game is probably most notable for the way CBS play-by-play announcer Kevin Harlan called two games simultaneously as Harrison Butker was kicking an extra point after a game-sealing Damien Williams touchdown.
Most people won’t remember Patrick Mahomes had a pedestrian game, throwing 16 completions in 25 attempts for 174 yards. Mahomes didn’t throw a touchdown in the second half. It was a Mecole Hardman 104-yard kickoff return for a touchdown that sparked the team to victory.
The Chargers have one of the best pass-rushing duos in the AFC between Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram III. They added a speedy rookie linebacker in Kenneth Murray in the draft along with verteran cornerback and long-time AFC West foe Chris Harris Jr. to the mix. One thing that should benefit the Chiefs is that Chargers’ All-Pro jack-of-all-trades secondary piece Derwin James is out for the season with an ACL injury.
So what can the Chiefs do differently this year to shake things up? Like they did in Week 1 against the Houston Texans, the Chiefs can get running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire going early. Clyde the Glyde is a playmaker and Andy Reid can look for unique situations to utilize him both on the ground and in the passing game. We didn’t see Reid use CEH in the passing game at all in Week 1, and that could be a new wrinkle the Chiefs put on the table in Week 2.
Mahomes may need to hit his first or second read more often than not. When there is a fast pass rush, one similar to what the Chargers like to bring, Mahomes will need to get the ball out quickly.
The offensive line needs to hold up for their quarterback. The Chiefs didn’t look to throw the ball deep in the season opener but almost certainly will look to hit a few home runs against the Chargers on Sunday afternoon.
The wide receivers need to make plays. DeMarcus Robinson had a case of the drops against Houston, dropping two potential touchdown passes that were thrown his way. Mahomes has shown his trust in Robinson throughout the offseason and thinks he can continue to be a key piece to this offense. He needs to prove that. Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins and Mecole Hardman can all make plays and need to make the Chargers' secondary look silly by utilizing team speed to their advantage.
Travis Kelce has typically had quiet games vs the Chargers. Throughout his career, he has one touchdown and no 100-yard receiving efforts in eight games vs the AFC rival. Maybe this will be the week Kelce breaks out against the Chargers.
It’s no secret the Chiefs are better than the Chargers on paper. The Chiefs were dominant without trying to be spectacular to start the season against the Texans. The Chargers barely squeaked by the now 0-2 Cincinnati Bengals in their week one effort. Mahomes knows he has a lot to prove against the Chargers and he will be out to make a statement in this one. If the Chiefs can get out to a hot start in the first quarter, this should be an easy double-digit win for Kansas City by the time Sunday night rolls around.
