The Los Angeles Chargers will be heading into Arrowhead Stadium (September 15) to take on their division rivals, the Kansas City Chiefs. Both AFC West top dogs started their seasons off with a win, the Chargers beat the Raiders, & the Chiefs beat the Cardinals.
The Chargers come into their week two matchup without their WR1, Keenan Allen. Allen suffered a hamstring injury in their week one matchup against Vegas. Mike Williams, who has shown flashes in his young NFL career, will look to bounce back after a not-so-productive start to the season in which he only caught two passes on four targets from quarterback Justin Herbert and will be more needed in the absence of Allen. Another passing weapon looking to step up in Allen’s place is newly acquired tight end Gerald Everett, who had a great game in his debut as a Charger; Everett had three receptions for 54 yards and a touchdown. The Chargers will also be without tight end Donald Parham Jr., so it puts an even more significant emphasis on Everett’s volume and involvement in the offense. Everett should be an intriguing name for fantasy football managers, especially after he was available on most waiver wires following his solid week one performance. He is set up to have an even more significant role in this Thursday Night Football showdown.
(Photo by Scott Clarke / ESPN Images)
On the defensive side of the ball, the Chargers may be getting back newly acquired Pro Bowl cornerback J.C. Jackson, who has yet to make his Chargers debut as he missed the team’s first game. The Chargers signed Jackson this offseason after catching eight interceptions and a league-leading 23 pass deflections as a member of the New England Patriots last season. The Chargers defense was able to thrive in week one even without Jackson, including intercepting Raiders QB Derek Carr three times. The Chargers may need Jackson more for this one than the last one because they are going up against arguably the best quarterback in the league, Patrick Mahomes, who is coming off a five-touchdown performance against the Arizona Cardinals.
(Photo by Allen Kee / ESPN Images)
As for Mahomes and the Chiefs, they will look to continue their hot start to the season. As previously mentioned, Mahomes threw five-touchdown passes in the team’s first game with 360 yards through the air. Former LSU Tiger National Champ running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire caught two touchdown passes from Mahomes; superstar tight end Travis Kelce and veteran receiver Mecole Hardman also joined the touchdown party. To go along with their success in the passing game, the Chiefs also had a great game on the ground with a rushing total of 128 yards with a 4.7-yard average per carry.
Note that kicker Harrison Butker has been ruled out for this game. Thus, the team has signed former Jets kicker Matt Ammendola who will suit up in Butker’s place, which could play a significant role as this is a rivalry game between two playoff-caliber teams, and one win between the two can make a difference later on as to one or the other clinching a spot in the playoffs.
As for the Kansas City defense, they slowed down Kyler Murray, and that depleted Arizona offense. Still, it looks like they have a much taller task at hand this week as they face off against one of the best quarterbacks in the league, former Oregon Duck Justin Herbert. Herbert had a phenomenal start to the 2022 season with a 279-yard three-touchdown day against the Raiders. The matchup between Herbert and the Chiefs defense may be the key to this AFC West matchup.
As for some predictions for this game, I believe the Chargers will defeat the Chiefs by a score of 35-34 in a tight game led by significant opportunities for kickers; I also predict that Justin Herbert will throw for at minimum three touchdowns and two of those touchdown passes will go to tight end Gerald Everett and running back Austin Ekeler.
I hope you all enjoy the game tonight; let us know what you think about this AFC West rivalry game by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sending us a tweet at @celebsecrets.
Don’t forget: The Los Angeles Chargers take on the Kansas City Chiefs LIVE from Arrowhead Stadium TONIGHT @ 8:15pm ET on Prime Video.
