The eyes of the pro football world will be on Arrowhead Stadium on Thursday Night as two prominent AFC West foes go head-to-head in an early showcase game for Amazon Prime. The Chiefs come into the game as a 4.5 point favorite coming off a dominant performance against Arizona on Sunday, while the Chargers held on to beat the Raiders.
The Chiefs have won the AFC West six straight years and the Chargers are looking to become the NFL’s next upstart team behind quarterback Justin Herbert. The Bolts haven’t won this division since 2009 but many in the national media believe it’s L.A.’s time to shine. But fear not, we are here to bring you a ray of sunshine and help put your mind at ease…if you happen to be a Chiefs fan.
Four reasons the Chiefs will beat the Chargers on Thursday
- Keenan Allen is unlikely to play. The Chargers have a myriad of weapons at their disposal but, perhaps, none more important than receiver Keenan Allen who is likely out with a hamstring injury. The Chiefs will be without corner Trent McDuffie as well which could negate the loss a little but the KC coaching staff clearly likes its young secondary to hold up in coverage.
- The Chiefs are hard to beat in September. The Chargers managed to accomplish it last season but Patrick Mahomes is now 11-2 in the month of September and, clearly, the Chiefs look like a streamlined butterfly out of the game in their first game. Mahomes seems at home with his new receiving corps and all systems are firing early on. In his career, Mahomes has only lost three divisional games at Arrowhead and you know the crowd will be revved to a frenzy.
- Chiefs rookies are shining early. Skyy Moore looks like the real deal as a returner/receiver and running back Isiah Pacheco led the team in rushing week one. You would like to see more out of DE George Karlaftis and Jaylen Watson will be severely tested by the Chargers receivers but, overall, early returns on the young guys has been very positive.
- Too many Chiefs weapons. All question marks on how the Chiefs offense would look without Tyreek Hill were answered on Sunday. This is a well-oiled machine and you already see Mahomes on the same page with new receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marques Valdez-Scantling. Overall, nine different players caught passes from Mahomes and the running backs are extremely dangerous coming out of the backfield.
