The Kansas City Chiefs look to get back on track against the Los Angeles Chargers on the international stage for “Monday Night Football.” This is one of the most important games of the season as the Chiefs are not only fighting for playoff position but also the AFC West title.
Here are five things to watch for in Chiefs vs. Chargers:
Chiefs’ offensive line
The line will be getting back two big pieces this week: Eric Fisher and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. The return of those two is huge for Kansas City because the offensive line has struggled to keep the quarterback clean for the majority of the season. The two will be a big improvement over the replacements they had at their respective positions.
The return of Fisher and Duvernay-Tardif also comes at the perfect time since the Chiefs suffered more injuries last week against the Titans. At one point they were down to their final five linemen during the game. They would have needed to play a tight end along the offensive line had they suffered another injury.
Thankfully, Mitchell Schwartz is expected to play against Monday after suffering an injury during Week 10. This will be the first time the Chiefs will have all five of their starting linemen since Week 2, so it will be interesting to see how much better the offense performs. Now that everyone is healthy we may finally see how good the offense can be. If everyone continues to stay healthy, especially along the offensive line, the end of the season has the potential to be very fun for Chiefs fans.
Which defense will we see?
The Chiefs’ defense has been interesting this season. After a rocky start, it was beginning to look like the defense was finally coming around after keeping Kirk Cousins and Dalvin Cook in check during the win over the Vikings in Week 9. But the defense would then give up 188 yards rushing to Derrick Henry and allow Ryan Tannehill to win have a game-winning drive the following week. The defense has been up and down, and it’s leaving us unsure what to expect on a weekly basis.
The offense can be one of the best in the league, especially with everyone healthy, but if the defense doesn’t do their part for the rest of the season, the Chiefs will be in trouble. The Chargers have great players at nearly every skill position, including Melvin Gordon at running back and Keenan Allen at wide receiver.
Better special teams
In past seasons the Chiefs prided themselves in having the most disciplined and best special teams in the NFL, but this season has been different.
The Chiefs have struggled to avoid penalties and make the right decisions, and last week against the Titans was especially bad. The Chiefs had two field goal attempts go horribly wrong. If the Chiefs would have executed on one of them, they would have won the game. Mecole Hardman also had a tough game on special teams, which included fielding a punt inside the 5-yard line, putting the Chiefs in bad field position to end the half.
The poor special teams play against the Titans was one of the big reasons why the Chiefs fell short. It led to special teams coordinator Dave Toub admitting that it’s been a rough year for his respective units across the board, so it’s important for Toub to get things back on track.
Sammy Watkins
Watkins is a player Chiefs fans may need to keep an eye out for this week. After a career game against the Jaguars to start the season, he hasn’t done much to impress and prove his worth. Last week against the Titans, he had some critical drops that could have changed the game. It just feels like more of the same story for him.
Watkins has been battling injuries all season, which isn’t new for him. He suffered a hamstring injury and missed time earlier in the season. In Week 10 against the Titans, Watkins ended up with a groin injury.
Watkins has the potential to be one of the best in the league. The least he can do is take some of the pressure off of Tyreek Hill. If Watkins has a good game against the Chargers, it will be a step in the right direction. The Chiefs are going to need him in order to be a good position heading into the stretch run.
How do the Chiefs respond in a must-win game?
This has become a must-win game for the Chiefs, so it will be interesting to see how they respond. They have lost four of their last six games, which has allowed the Oakland Raiders to creep up right behind them in the AFC West standings. If Kansas City loses on Monday, the division will be in jeopardy.
This game could also have implications for the Chiefs’ playoff seeding because of the losses to both the Colts and Texans, and because the Ravens are playing their best football. Winning out is crucial if Kansas City intends to have a chance at having wild-card weekend off.
Regardless, this is a big game, and if the Chiefs lose we will need to re-evaluate our expectations as the regular season inches toward the finish.
