After defeating the Raiders, the Chargers meet with another division rival, the Chiefs, on Thursday night, Sept. 15, at 5:15 pm PT.
To get you prepped for the Week 2 bout, here are six key things to know about Los Angeles’ opponent ahead of the matchup.
Still slinging it
One of the questions coming into the season was how Patrick Mahomes would look without the electric wideout Tyreek Hill, who was traded to the Dolphins this offseason. Well, he still looked like one of the top signal-callers in the NFL in the Chiefs’ victory over the Cardinals in Week 1. The former MVP threw for 360 yards, five touchdowns, and no interceptions en route to a 144.2 passer rating. He connected with nine receivers, including newcomers JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who combined for ten catches and 123 yards in their Chiefs debuts.
Travis is still a terror
While Mahomes spread the wealth on Sunday, he still favored his top target, tight end Travis Kelce. Kelce paced Kansas City’s receiving group with eight catches for 121 yards and a touchdown on nine targets.
Dominant defensive effort
The Chiefs’ defense limited Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray to 193 yards passing and 29 yards rushing. A big part of their success was star defensive tackle Chris Jones, who tallied five pressures and a 23.7% pass-rush win rate on 30 pass-rush snaps. Other top defensive performers were cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, defensive end Carlos Dunlap and defensive lineman Tershawn Wharton, who each recorded a sack, and linebacker Nick Bolton, leading the team in tackles (10). As a whole, Kansas City broke up seven passes.
Strong rookie group
The Chiefs had a few first-year players on the field in Week 1. Cornerback Trent McDuffie was arguably the best out of the bunch. McDuffie didn’t see any targets across his 21 coverage snaps. However, McDuffie won’t play against the Chargers, as he was placed on the injured reserve list with a hamstring injury. Their other first-rounder, defensive end George Karlaftis had three pressures and a quarterback hit across his 22 pass-rush snaps. Second-round wide receiver Skyy Moore had a catch that went for 30 yards. Seventh-round running back Isiah Pacheco scored the first touchdown of his career and led the group with 62 rushing yards.
Fumbling issues
The Chiefs had trouble hanging onto the football in Week 1, finishing with five fumbles. While they lost just one of those, the Chargers showed the ability to knock the ball loose against the Raiders, generating three fumbles. This could be a great opportunity for Los Angeles to win the turnover battle.
Suspect special teams
Harrison Butker injured his left ankle on a kickoff in the first quarter. That led to the Chiefs bringing in their emergency kicker, safety Justin Reid. Yes, a safety. Reid wasn’t perfect – he missed an extra point, and one of his kickoffs was returned to the 48-yard line. Butker was carted off the field but was able to return later in the contest. He kicked a 54-yard field goal and hit all four of his attempted extra points. Looking ahead, Butker appears unlikely to play against the Chargers. Kansas City signed Matt Ammendola to its practice squad this week, and he could be promoted to the active roster in time for Thursday’s game.
