Intriguing Game- Week 15
Los Angeles Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs
Chargers: They’ve bounced back nicely winning their last two games. They made believers out of some people after their victory on the road in Pittsburgh almost two weeks ago. What seemed to be a loss for the Chargers turned into a huge win for them after they erased a 16-point lead and won the game by three points. They also won last week and sit at 10-3 with three games to play. Whoever thought that by week 15 that the Los Angeles Chargers would have the second-best record in the AFC? Right now, they are sitting in a good position for the fifth seed in the AFC playoff picture. If there’s a team in the AFC that can make things interesting when January comes around, it’s these guys. They have an experienced quarterback who’s having the best year of his career in his 15th season in Philip Rivers, they have one of the better receiving corps in the league but the difference maker for them is being able to run the football and they have one of the best doing just that in Melvin Gordon. When he returns from his injury, watch how they incorporate him more into the offense. The defense received a boost when Joey Bosa came back. The one guy on the defensive side that’s stood out to me has been Derwin James and he’s already established himself as one of the best safeties in the league. He plays inside, he can cover, he tackles, he can make a play on the football and you can tell how much he loves this game. Tonight, they’ll face a Chiefs team with all the confidence in the world at the moment.
Chiefs: I watched a large portion of that game on Sunday against the Ravens and to me, this was such an impressive win because they didn’t have to light up the scoreboard to make a statement as they have for most of this year and their defense made some clutch plays along with some big stops when it mattered the most. I’ve said this each time when they’ve lost a game, but the Chiefs don’t go down without a fight. Baltimore had so many opportunities to put that game away and Kansas City fought back to send the game into overtime. At this point, I can say that anything Patrick Mahomes does on the field really doesn’t surprise me anymore. He can do it all just about and if you haven’t seen his no look pass the other day, I suggest you go find this and you’ll see what I’m talking about. In the words of the legendary west coast rapper Ice Cube, it was a good day for them on Sunday because they came back and won and improved their record to 11-2 which is the best record in the AFC and the Steelers, Texans and Patriots all lost as well which makes things look even better for them as far as the playoff picture is concerned. This could be the best team I’ve seen Andy Reid coach in his entire career. To move one step closer to their third straight division title, they will host the Chargers tonight at home.
Chargers Player To Watch: Darius Philon– He’s a piece to this Chargers defensive line that will need to have their best performance if they want to win this game. When they met back in week one, I really didn’t see pressure from Los Angeles and their defensive line. That’s a must. We all know what Bosa and Ingram are going to do. Darius can help collapse Mahomes’ pocket.
Chiefs Player To Watch: Chris Jones– I know the Chiefs have struggled quite a bit on defense, but the one thing that has been consistent on that side of the ball has been their pass rush and it’s been led by this guy who’s having a career year with 11.5 sacks on the season.
Final Analysis: When they first met, this is what introduced us to the Pat Mahomes experience and all these weeks later, he’s one of the front-runners for MVP. Who would’ve imagined that these teams would have the top records in the AFC right now? If I’m the Chargers, I’m getting after that secondary of the Chiefs that gives up a ton of big plays. Mix it up with Allen, Williams, Benjamin and Green. This is a different Chargers team that the Chiefs will see tonight. They’re a very well-rounded team that can move the ball down the field in so many ways, so they need to be prepared for whatever comes their way.
Prediction: Chiefs 34 Chargers 31
