Recent Trends That May Define Chiefs Vs Chargers SNF Tilt

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For the final time in the 2022 regular season, the Kansas City Chiefs will square off against the Los Angeles Chargers. Obviously, this game holds plenty of weight in the AFC West division race. Kansas City holds a two-game lead over Los Angeles, as the Chiefs sit at 7-2 and the Chargers are 5-4. While this will not officially clinch the division, a Kansas City victory could all but determine Los Angeles’s chance for the West in the remainder of the season.

Furthermore, this game was flexed into Sunday Night Football, after originally being scheduled for a late afternoon kick. The Chargers actually get to play in the SNF slot for the second straight week. Last week, they dropped a close one to the San Francisco 49ers. How could that affect their chances when hosting the Chiefs this week?

These two teams have had instant classics against each other over the last few years. Largely, it seems guaranteed that we have a tight finish when Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert square off. We already saw another one of those close calls in Week 2 this season, where Kansas City came out on top by a score of 27-24.

Despite the natural talent of these two teams, there have been some recent trends that have left some scratching their heads. This involves parts of each team’s offense. In other parts, there is a certain defensive unit that cannot get out of their own way in one specific area. How will injuries impact each of the Chiefs or Chargers attacks on offense, to boot? Let’s dive into recent trends that are glaring heading into this week’s battle between Kansas City and Los Angeles.

Something Has To Give

Outside of last week, the Kansas City Chiefs have struggled mightily to run the football. There have been some ups and downs to the offensive line’s play this season. Even if they are rolling, Chiefs running backs have sometimes hurt themselves by misreading the rushing lanes. Isiah Pacheco seems to hit the hole with more force and easily led the way in rushing last week. Even with a fumble lost, the rookie from Rutgers gave Kansas City a great mix of pace and power last game.

Do the Chiefs still lean on Pacheco this week? Or, could we see an increase in chances for Clyde Edwards-Helaire? CEH has had some notable moments against the Chargers in recent meetings. At the same time, the leash on Edwards-Helaire could be extremely short, given the continued improvement of Pacheco. Regardless, Kansas City must be able to find chunk gains in the running game, unlike their previous games before facing Jacksonville.

On the other hand, the Chargers are continually one of the worst run defenses in the entire NFL. Los Angeles ranks 30th in rushing yards allowed and 31st in yards per carry allowed. Meanwhile, the Chargers have surrendered 11 rushing touchdowns this season, sixth-most in the league. Their lack of range and consistent tackling at linebacker has cost them dearly. If they cannot win leverage battles upfront, it is generally a long day for the Chargers when defending the run. Which of these will find more success on Sunday Night?

Lack Of Fireworks

For whatever reason, the Chargers have struggled on deep passes over the last handful of games. This can be attributed to many factors. For starters, Herbert has seen his pass catching group get shook up, due to nagging injuries. Los Angeles has also failed in play calling, with a lack of innovation, especially on third downs. When looking into recent games of the Chargers, they are running many horizontal stretch routes into the middle of the field.

There is simply a lack of threats to all three levels. Going into last week, Herbert had the third-worst completion percentage, the third-worst yards per pass attempt and the second-worst percentage of throws that were off-target on throws 15 yards or more down the field. That is courtesy of ESPN.

It is not all on Herbert. Most interestingly, the Chargers have seen their wide receivers or tight ends get stymied at the line of scrimmage by physical defenders. This group appears to lack any level of versatility when their initial plan is snuffed out. For a group that lives so much off of explosive plays in the passing game, that part of their game is just nonexistent right now for the Chargers.

Kansas City has been pleased with the level of play by their trio of rookie cornerbacks. Despite the time he missed with injury, Trent McDuffie is continuing to play at a near elite level. He is surrendering almost zero catches in coverage, let alone pass attempts going his way. Jaylen Watson already had a momentum-changing pick-six against this Chargers team earlier this season. Since that moment, Watson has only continued to get more confident and comfortable at the catch point. Even Joshua Williams has found his footing in space after a tough first career start. Can this Chiefs trio continue to frustrate the opposition on third down?

Giveaways In Late Moments

The talent, production and success in some crucial moments cannot be denied when discussing Herbert. However, the late-game turnovers are starting to become a constant problem. And for the most part, it seems like that topic is being ignored. The Los Angeles passer is tremendous more often than not. But overall, these fourth quarter turnovers have been popping up quite frequently.

Just last week, Herbert had another late interception against the 49ers. Granted, his arm was hit as he released the ball, and the Chargers were forced to hurry with under a minute left on the clock. You still have to wonder about the frequency in Herbert’s fourth quarter turnovers, though. Three of his six interceptions this year have come in the fourth quarter. He entered the season with 11 fourth quarter interceptions in his career, many of which have come in losses. Herbert obviously had one fourth quarter interception against the Chiefs this season, returned for a pick-six. Will that come into play in a possible close game against Kansas City, once again?

The War Of Attrition

On top of recent trends, the war of attrition is likely to matter significantly in the matchup on Sunday night. Both of Keenan Allen and Mike Williams have missed time both recently and throughout the season. Will they be able to return this week? Other Chargers pass catchers like DeAndre Carter and Gerald Everett were limited in Wednesday’s practice. Beyond that, the LA special teams have been impacted to a degree, as kicker Dustin Hopkins and punter JK Scott have each missed time in previous weeks.

As for Kansas City, the Chiefs are banged up at wide receiver. JuJu Smith-Schuster took a scary hit last week and was immediately placed into concussion protocol. No matter how good he may feel, the new designs of the concussion protocol could place more question into his availability. Mecole Hardman has hardly been able to work in the last handful of practices, because of an abdominal injury. Even at the Chiefs running back spot, Jerick McKinnon has fought through continued ailments.

Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs articles and analysis throughout this week. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.

– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.