Chargers @ Chiefs: The Battle for the West. What Are They Playing For Tonight?

Chargers @ Chiefs: The Battle for the West. What Are They Playing For Tonight?
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Whoever in the beginning of the year put the Chargers against the Chiefs on Thursday Night Football in Week 15 we’d like to thank you. Tonight’s game is must watch TV if you are a sports fan. Not just division rivals but two top 5 teams will be squaring off tonight on primetime football. The game is can be considered for the AFC West crown, and more than likely home field advantage throughout the playoffs. It will be a playoff crowd in Kansas City tonight.

Little Preview of The Game Itself:
The Chiefs against the LA Chargers is one of the best Thursday Night Football games we have ever gotten. The Chiefs are the home team so they will have the advantage especially in Arrowhead which determined to be one of the loudest places to play. Kansas City’s offense is next to none in the league thus far. They are number one in total offense for yards per game, third in total passing behind MVP front runner and first year starter QB Patrick Mahomes. They lost Kareem Hunt to investigation you can expect Mahomes to be used more. Spencer Ware the running back they brought in because of Hunt’s absence is ruled as doubtful tonight. Expect the Chiefs to throw the ball a lot tonight. Which they should have no problem with since they have Mahomes who leads the NFL in touchdown passes and yards total on the season. Tyreek Hill will be available tonight for the Chiefs where Mahomes likes to go a lot as Hill is 2nd in receiving yards in the NFL. Mahomes will be tested by that talented defense of the Chargers though. Joey Bosa will cause problems with that Kansas City offensive line that’s 28th in the NFL. The Chargers secondary which 7th against the pass in 2018 with the new addition of rookie Derwin James will put up a fight tonight against that high powered Chiefs offense.
On the other side of the ball the Chargers offense will be playing one of the worst defenses in football. The Chargers may be without their running back Melvin Gordon who is 12th in rushing yards but most importantly helps bring balance to the offense. The Chargers are 6th in total offense and the Chiefs are 30th in total defense. Advantage goes to the Chargers. So the matchup is Chargers 6th offense against Chiefs 30th ranked defense, but the Chiefs do have the number 1 offense but the Chargers have the 8th total defense. The Chargers have many more advantages than it may seem. Long time Chargers QB, and future Hall of Famer Philip Rivers is having his best year yet with passer rating, touchdowns, and passing yards. May this finally be the year he breaks through for that Super Bowl? Well winning this game will sure make it a lot easier. The Chiefs however do have a great front on defense no matter what people say about that secondary that is awful. That defensive line led by Justin Houston and Dee Ford has the 2nd most sacks in the league. With the Chargers being near last for their offensive line Philip Rivers may have to move a lot. Both quarterbacks will have to, and if we are being honest I rather have Mahomes running around rather than Rivers. The Chiefs are also getting Eric Berry after missing the first 14 weeks of the season with a torn achilles. That’s Berry’s 3rd major surgery but if he is even half the player he was he’s already better than what Kansas City has now. It will be a showdown for the ages in Kansas City tonight.

The Outcomes Affects:
The Chiefs are currently 1.5 games up on the Chargers because they have more division wins so if they were tied at the end of the season the Chiefs own the tiebreaker. However if the Chargers win tonight that would mean they are .5 games back in the division with two games left. The Chargers could win out as they play a Lamar Jackson Ravens team in LA, then a beaten up Broncos team. The Chiefs last two games are against the Seahawks at Seattle. The Seahawks are pretty good there especially in playoff environments which that game would be. They also play the Raiders in a throw out the records kind of game. The Raiders may be bad this season but they brought the Chiefs to a the end in their last game losing 40-33. The Chiefs and Raiders have met 120 times and the Chiefs have won 65 of those games. Do the math the series is close and every game is a fight in that rivalry. If the Chiefs win tonight  they clinch the division. The Chargers must win to stay alive in the division hunt then hope for KC slip up going down the stretch. This game could decide who is the division winner and who has home field advantage in the AFC. Both teams are making the playoffs in the first wildcard slot. So saying tonight is a very big game isn’t crazy.
By Matthew Doherty

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