The Chargers are one of the most hyped up teams entering this NFL season but a slow start could completely derail all of that momentum. Bad starts have hurt the Chargers before when trying to make a playoff push and the team must avoid that this season.
Los Angeles starts the season with a critical division matchup against the reigning AFC West Champions, the Kansas City Chiefs. Following the opening matchup, the Chargers get a break with the Buffalo Bills before heading to the Coliseum to face the Los Angeles Rams.
The Chargers need to be at least 2-1 through three weeks before the team hosts the San Francisco 49ers, which could be a dangerous team.
This marks fourth time Chargers will host Chiefs in season opener but first since 1992. … Chiefs have won eight straight in series. They also won eight straight from 1990-93. … Kansas City is 31-27 in season openers and has won its last three. Chargers are 32-26 and have dropped their past two. … Chiefs coach Andy Reid is 10-3 vs. Chargers; Los Angeles coach Anthony Lynn is 0-2 vs. Chiefs. … Kansas City QB Patrick Mahomes will make second career start. He threw for 284 yards in last year’s regular-season finale at Denver. … RB Kareem Hunt led NFL last season in rushing yards (1,327). He averaged 163.5 rushing yards and scored two rushing touchdowns against Chargers last season. … Travis Kelce led all tight ends with 83 receptions last season and was second in yardage (1,018). … WR Tyreek Hill has 11 career touchdowns of 50 yards or more, including 65-yard reception vs. Chargers last season. … LB Justin Houston has six sacks in past five games against Los Angeles. … Chiefs have won 11 straight games when they score touchdown on defense.
Chargers were 4-4 last season in StubHub Center. … Los Angeles led the league in passing in 2017, averaging 276.9 yards per game. … QB Philip Rivers has five 300-yard games vs. Chiefs, but none since 2013. He has started 192 consecutive regular-season games, longest active streak among QBs in NFL … WR Keenan Allen set team record with 102 receptions last season. … RB Melvin Gordon has scored touchdown vs. Chiefs in last three meetings. He had 169 scrimmage yards (91 receiving, 71 rushing) in last meeting. … DE Joey Bosa has 19 sacks in first 20 games, most by player in that span since 1982. … Chargers allowed only 18 sacks last season, least they have allowed in 16-game schedule. … Fantasy tip: TE Antonio Gates has 16 touchdowns vs. Chiefs, most against any opponent. He missed preseason before deciding to return to Chargers, so snaps could be limited Sunday.
In the eight consecutive games the Chiefs have played and won against their division rival since then, they’ve outscored the Chargers by an average margin of more than 12 points per game. Each of the past three games Kansas City has played and won against the Chargers on the road have been decided by 10 or more points, with the Chiefs winning by an average of 18 points per game. And if you need a betting system to convince you to back the Chiefs here, consider that in the first two weeks of a season, teams that closed the prior season with back-to-back wins but failed to make the playoffs are 4-23-2 ATS since the start of 2009.
Had officials gotten the call right on Raiders tight end Jared Cook being down by contact short of the goal line with 16 seconds remaining in what would turn out to be a 31-30 win for Oakland over Kansas City last October, the Chiefs would be putting a 17-game win streak against AFC West opponents on the line in Southern California on Sunday. As it stands, Kansas City has a 13-4 ATS mark versus divisional opponents to go along with its 16-1 win-loss record over that time frame. The Chargers, on the other hand, are 6-18 straight up and 9-14-1 ATS against AFC West foes since the start of the 2014 season.
Chargers DE Joey Bosa did not practice for a second straight day and has been ruled out for Sunday. Chargers say original left foot injury healed, but Bosa suffered new injury to the same foot.
Here’s Joey Bosa on the field during practice. pic.twitter.com/vx3jAWpaMo
— Eric Williams (@eric_d_williams) September 7, 2018
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