The Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs are about to duke it out in a divisional showdown under the lights on Thursday night.
Before the matchup, Chiefs Wire managing editor Charles Goldman spoke with us about Los Angeles’ opponent.
What is the cornerback rotation going to look like with Trent McDuffie on injured reserve?
Yeah, so seventh-round rookie Jaylen Watson filled in for McDuffie after he left the game with the injury last week. He was targeted twice, recording a pass defended and [allowing a] a 6-yard touchdown pass. To his credit, he played 25 coverage snaps and was only targeted twice. That’s pretty good for a guy coming off the bench cold in the middle of a Week 1 game. When the Chiefs have three cornerbacks on the field, expect L’Jarius Sneed in the slot with Watson and Rashad Fenton outside. In base defense, it’ll likely be Sneed and Fenton. In dime, you’ll see rookie safety Bryan Cook on the field. If there is another injury, fourth-round draft pick Joshua Williams will be the next man up. He has a lot of upside to his game, but coming from D-II HBCU Fayetteville State, he’s not yet a finished product.
Who’s an underrated player that flashed in Week 1 that you expect to have a big game?
I’m not sure that he had what I’d call a standout game, with one reception for 1 yard and one touchdown, but I think TE Jody Fortson will be a guy the Chiefs utilize a lot in Week 2. The Chargers are going to have Derwin James blanketing Travis Kelce, so I expect to see some 12-personnel sets with Kelce and Fortson, where Kelce is used as a decoy. Fortson actually scored his first career NFL touchdown against the Chargers in Week 3 last season.
How is the offense going to operate differently without Tyreek Hill?
I think you saw it last week. Nine different receivers were targeted, and five of them were targeted more than once. They traded away an elite receiving talent in Hill, but they traded it for better depth at the receiver position across the board. When opponents try to key in on stopping one player like they often did with Hill, they’re going to have the counterpunch ready and available. I also think their attack is a bit more diversified. They’re not just going for the home-run shot with Hill anymore. It’s not to say they can’t take the shot play anymore, but they have the pieces to be able to win at any down and distance.
What do you think the Chiefs’ game plan on defense will be against Justin Herbert?
I think it’ll actually be fairly similar to the plan they had for Kyler Murray a week ago. You don’t want to flush him out of the pocket. He’s not exactly the dual-threat athlete that Murray is, but Herbert has a really good feel for pressure, escaping the pocket and making plays outside of the structure of the offense. They’ll work to corral him and contain him to the pocket as best they can, also sending the occasional blitz.
Kansas City had some of the more publicized offseason standouts in Skyy Moore and Isiah Pacheco. Should Chargers fans expect them to have a big role, or has the hype died down?
I don’t think the hype has died down for either, but they’re both sort of buried on the depth chart right now. You’ll see Moore on punt returns and Pacheco on kick returns. The Chiefs also will have certain package plays for both of them during the course of the game. If Andy Reid sees a matchup advantage, he could potentially script them into the first 15 plays. If the Chiefs jump out to a big lead, they’ll probably get Pacheco in there to bleed the clock like they did last week.
