The Los Angeles Chargers have a chance to close the gap between themselves and the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West when the two teams clash at SoFi Stadium for Sunday Night Football.
LA lost some ground in the race for first in the division, losing 22-16 to the San Francisco 49ers last Sunday, as they are now two games behind the Chiefs, who beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-17.
Match preview
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For three quarters, Brandon Staley and his Chargers seemed to have their game against the Niners well in hand, up by a field goal while holding the versatile Christian McCaffrey in check.
However, they failed to generate much in the fourth quarter, losing for just the second time away from home this year, with their first away defeat coming at Arrowhead against the Chiefs in September (27-24).
Their secondary will face another stiff test in the passing game against tight ends on Sunday, a challenge they have been up for all year, allowing an 82.5 rating against that position.
They have been solid when it comes to covering opposing receivers as well, with a rating of 91.2 against them, but it is how they defend against pass catchers in the backfield which has been an issue, conceding a 107.6 rating to running backs this year.
Despite missing numerous key contributors at the receiver position, they have maintained a solid passing attack, sitting fifth in the NFL regarding yards per game through the air (265.3).
Critical injuries have also hampered their ability to generate pressure defensively, with LA posting just 20 sacks on the season, while on the other side of the ball, the Chargers have resorted to numerous short dump-offs due to the number of pass catchers currently sidelined.
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Andy Reid's Kansas City Chiefs faced their share of trick plays while making a few uncharacteristic mistakes last Sunday.
In the end, they powered through and came away with a comfortable victory, despite turning the ball over three times and allowing the Jags to recover an onside kick on the game's opening play.
Four different receivers caught touchdown passes for KC in that triumph as they put up 331 yards through the air, slightly above their per-game ratio of 313.9, which is the highest average in the NFL.
They lost a tremendous playmaker in Tyreek Hill over the offseason, but his departure has enabled them to spread the ball around with 10 receivers targeted in Week 10, while they were able to keep their drives going all game long, going 7/10 in third down conversions, while also converting on their only fourth down gamble.
KC have defended the run well most of this season, allowing Travis Etienne just 45 yards on the ground last week, but their pass coverage has been vulnerable, with a 101.6 rating this season, while conceding 19 passing scores with only three interceptions.
Lately, they have dominated their division, winning seven of their last eight regular-season affairs versus teams in the AFC West, with their only defeat over that stretch coming at home to the Chargers last year.
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Team News
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Chargers linebacker Khalil Mack picked up his seventh sack of the season in their loss to San Francisco, Drue Tranquill had seven tackles, Austin Ekeler had seven catches for 39 yards, while DeAndre Carter caught four passes for 64 yards and a touchdown.
Justin Herbert has struggled in the passing game without some of his deep threats as he was held to a 73.0 rating against the 49ers, averaging under six yards per attempt in four consecutive games, while Gerald Everett had six catches for 71 yards in their loss to the Chiefs earlier this year.
Mike Williams, who had a receiving TD in the last outing against KC, has been sidelined with a sprained ankle, Trey Pipkins is dealing with a knee injury, while Dustin Hopkins and Keenan Allen have been suffering from hamstring strains.
Travis Kelce, Noah Gray, Kadarius Toney and Marquez Valdes-Scantling all caught a touchdown pass versus Jacksonville, while Isiah Pacheco had a solid game on the ground, rushing for 82 yards on 16 carries.
Patrick Mahomes leads the league in passing yards (2,936), posting a 129.6 rating last week, Jerick McKinnon had six catches on eight targets in their previous game, Nick Bolton has 81 tackles to lead the Chiefs this season and Juan Thornhill has one interception.
Andrew Wylie practised this week after previously sustaining an elbow injury, L'Jarius Sneed has a sprained knee, while JuJu Smith-Schuster and Chris Lammons are dealing with concussions.
Head To Head
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Earlier this year, McKinnon and Justin Watson each had a touchdown catch for the Chiefs when they edged the Chargers 27-24, with Matt Ammendola connecting on his only two field goal attempts.
The last three games between these teams have been one-score affairs as Kelce had the game-winning score in overtime in their previous visit to SoFi Stadium in 2021, as they triumphed 34-28.
Overall, KC have a 66-58-1 record against LA, with the last Chargers triumph occurring in 2021 when Mike Williams caught two fourth-quarter passes from Justin Herbert for touchdowns, while Asante Samuel and Alohi Gilman each had an interception.
We say: Los Angeles Chargers 20-33 Kansas City Chiefs
Without a legitimate deep threat, the Chiefs can key on the Chargers underneath patterns and put together several blitz packages to confuse Herbert.
LA have ground out their share of victories this year, but Khalil Mack has not got the support needed to pressure opposing quarterbacks consistently, mainly due to the injury sustained earlier this year by Joey Bosa.
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Joel Lefevre
