Despite sharing a division with the defending Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs are a popular pick to win the AFC West, and they get their first chance to live up to the hype when they host the San Diego Chargers on Sunday. The Chiefs have won four straight meetings with their division rivals.
The Chiefs finished the 2015 regular season with 10 straight wins and blasted Houston 30-0 in the first round of the playoffs before losing to New England. The defense carried that team at times, but the return of dynamic running back Jamaal Charles from last year’s knee injury to join a solid receiving corps has Kansas City thinking about being more rounded this year. “I think the great thing about us offensively is, we can distribute the football to a lot of different guys, we can do a lot of different things,” quarterback Alex Smith told reporters. “I feel really good about it. Run and pass, a lot of guys touching the football, a lot of guys contributing.” It could be the final season in San Diego for the Chargers, who might bolt for Los Angeles if voters don’t approve a stadium-financing measure in November and aren’t likely to gain favor if they don’t improve upon last year’s dismal 4-12 campaign.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: Kansas City -6.5. O/U: 44.5
ABOUT THE CHARGERS (2015: 4-12): Philip Rivers put up huge passing numbers last season, mostly out of necessity, as the Chargers ranked 31st in the league in rushing and found themselves playing from behind more often than not. Making matters worse, running back Danny Woodhead led the team in receptions (80), receiving yards (755) and receiving touchdowns (six). The Chargers drafted Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa third overall to try to bolster a defense that struggled last season, but he signed late and has been slowed by a hamstring injury that likely will keep him off the field Sunday.
ABOUT THE CHIEFS (2015: 11-5): The key to the Chiefs’ success last season was their plus-14 turnover margin, a product of a ball-hawking defense and the care with which Smith ran coach Andy Reid’s West Coast offense. Two of Smith's favorite targets return in Jeremy Maclin (1,088 yards, eight TDs) and tight end Travis Kelce (875, five) and he will benefit from having Charles back soon, if not on Sunday. Most of the key players from the other side of the ball are back as well, including Defensive Rookie of the Year Marcus Peters at cornerback, but the Chiefs will miss linebacker Justin Houston for the first half of the season as he recovers from knee surgery.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Rivers has passed for 5,157 yards versus the Chiefs, his highest total against any opponent.
2. The Chargers averaged just 240.5 yards in two games against the Chiefs last season, more than 130 below their average.
3. Chiefs LB Tamba Hali has recorded nine sacks in his last 10 games against the Chargers.