Kansas City Chiefs vs Los Angeles Chargers Odds, Best Bets, and Prediction

Kansas City Chiefs vs Los Angeles Chargers Preview
Kickoff: Sunday, September 26th, 1:00 PM ET. Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas City)
Moneyline: Texans (+325), Panthers (-425)
Spread: Texans (+8), Panthers (-8)

After both teams suffered a loss in Week 2, this week’s AFC West showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers takes on added importance. All four teams in that division have looked good early in the season with the Broncos and Raiders both starting 2-0. That means the loser of this game will sit alone in last place after three weeks. The Chiefs enter the game as 6.5-point favorites at home with the over/under set at an ambitious 54.5 points.

Kansas City Chiefs Preview

For the Chiefs, there’s no shame in losing a road game in Baltimore, especially this early in the season. However, they did allow Baltimore to score the final 12 points of the game. Kansas City also had to come from behind to beat the Browns in Week 1, so it’s been anything but smooth sailing for Andy Reid’s team, which began the season as the betting favorite to win the Super Bowl.

Of course, aside from a sluggish start in Week 1 and going scoreless in the fourth quarter last week, this looks like the same old Kansas City offense. They have scored the third-most points in the NFL through two weeks with Patrick Mahomes looking almost impossible to corral in the backfield or defense when he gets loose. He’s completed 76% of his passes while averaging over 10 yards per pass, so the explosive plays are still there. The only catch is that if you take away the plays on which Mahomes scrambles, the Chiefs are averaging just 57.5 rushing yards per game with no explosive plays from Clyde Edwards-Helaire thus far.

Meanwhile, the KC defense isn’t quite getting the job done. The Chiefs did just enough to sneak past Cleveland in Week 1, although they were a little exposed by the running game at times. They also had no answers for Lamar Jackson last week and didn’t do a great job containing the other Baltimore rushers. Even after forcing a couple of turnovers, the Kansas City defense couldn’t come up with the stops it needed in the fourth quarter. But to be fair, the Chiefs won't be the last team this season that’s left befuddled by Jackson, so last week’s game isn’t necessarily indicative of how the rest of the season will play out.

Los Angeles Chargers Preview

The Chargers have to be kicking themselves a little bit for not starting the year 2-0. They did a fine job of winning on the road in Week 1, only to falter at home in front of their fans at SoFi Stadium for the first time. Obviously, the Cowboys had more than a few fans in the building as well. But the Chargers also had more than enough opportunities to win that game before allowing Greg Zuerlein to kick a 56-yard field goal at the end to win it for Dallas.

Outside of the loss, the Chargers have to be a little puzzled at how few points they’ve scored in two games. Justin Herbert has thrown for over 330 yards in back-to-back weeks, which should amount to more than 37 total points. However, Herbert has thrown three interceptions in two games, which has taken away scoring opportunities. It’s also hard not to feel like the Chargers are missing something from their running game. Austin Ekeler is not the type of back who can take 15-20 carries in a game, yet the Chargers don’t have a proven option to split carries with him.

On the other side of the ball, the Chargers are far from perfect, although they’ve done enough to win both of their games. Granted, the LA defense was a little fortunate that Ryan Fitzpatrick got hurt early in Week 1. But the Chargers got stops after retaking the lead in the fourth quarter nonetheless. A week ago, the defense started slowly but eventually started to clamp down. After the first quarter, the Chargers only allowed Dallas to score on a pair of field goals, which is a promising sign, even if it wasn’t enough to get the win.

Full Chiefs vs Chargers Prediction

The Chargers will surely need to be at their best on both sides of the ball if they expect to get a win at Arrowhead Stadium. While the Chiefs have some vulnerabilities, they don’t necessarily match up with where the Chargers are the strongest. That being said, if Herbert can continue to put up big numbers while avoiding turnovers, he and the Chargers might have a chance to keep pace with Mahomes and the Chiefs in a shootout and make this game interesting to the end.

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