The Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers kick off Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime with an absolute bang
One week of NFL football is in the book, and would you believe it, the Kansas City Chiefs are a good football team again. Rumors of their demise were greatly exaggerated as the red and gold abused the Arizona Cardinals for a 44-21 victory. The game was not as close as the score implies, and the Chiefs got to make a substantial strategic decision and put the backups in early to prepare for a short week.
And what a matchup is waiting for Kansas City on the other side of that short week. The Los Angeles Chargers, their AFC West rival, the new darlings of sports media. For the first-ever presentation of NFL Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime, there could have been a better matchup.
The Chargers also won their week one matchup, grabbing a tight victory over the Las Vegas Raiders. They looked impressive, forcing three turnovers on defense which were the deciding factor in helping them win.
A win over LA is not just important for standings and win-loss records, but it is also a matter of pride this year. It is imperative that the Chiefs have a solid game plan going in if they want to remain the top dog in the AFC West.
Chiefs’ Offense Vs. Chargers’ Defense
Patrick Mahomes looked unstoppable in week one, effortlessly throwing for 360 yards and 5 touchdowns in just three-quarters of play. He spread the ball to every pass catcher on the team, with Travis Kelce leading the pack with 121 yards and a touchdown, while JuJu Smith-Schuster followed with 79 yards.
However, the Chiefs were not just dominant in the air, but also at the line of scrimmage, as evidenced by the absurd numbers put up by KC running backs. Isaiah Pacheco averaged 5.2 yards per carry, Clyde Edwards-Helaire averaged 6 yards per carry, and even Jerrick McKinnon came in at 5.5 yards per carry. The only players who did not average at least five yards per rushing attempt were Patrick Mahomes and Marquez Valdez-Scantling. This helped give the Chiefs a nearly ten-minute time of possession advantage. The Chiefs’ offensive line also did not give up a single sack despite seeing the blitz on 56% of snaps.
At first glance, the Chargers’ defense held the Raiders’ offense to 19 points and that is impressive. However, looking at the numbers of that performance, there are way more questions than answers.
LA gave up a total of 4.9 yards per carry to LV running backs, with Josh Jacobs hitting 5.7 yards per attempt himself. Davante Adams hurt the Charger’s secondary in a personal way, going off for 141 yards (he also received 49% of targets, so it was not a mystery where the ball was going). Even Darren Waller hurt them, grabbing 79 yards on just four carries.
If it were not for Derek Carr doing his best Baker Mayfield impersonation and throwing three interceptions (Two of them were Carr underthrowing a ball into triple coverage, for those still considering him an MVP candidate), this game is likely much closer, and may even lean towards a Vegas victory.