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John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
It’s the season finale in San Diego. The Chiefs take on the Chargers with a playoff bye on the line. Find the top matchups for the Chiefs and Chargers here
I can’t believe the regular season is already coming to a close. This has been by far one of the wildest rides in a long time being a Chiefs fan. We started the season with a week one overtime thriller against San Diego. It’s only fitting that we also end the season against the team that started it all.
The Chiefs are playing for a chance at the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs, but need the Raiders to lose to the Broncos. The Raiders just lost their starting quarterback Derek Carr to a broken fibula. In his place the 4th year veteran Matt McGloin will be making his seventh career start this season. Should the Raiders lose and Chiefs win the Chiefs will have their first playoff bye since 2003.
So lets get this show on the road and take a look at the matchups heading into the game.
Chargers Offensive Line vs. Chiefs Front 7
Normally I’d split this up, but for this matchup it goes hand in hand. The Chargers offensive line and running back injuries have plagued the team for much of the season. Melvin Gordon the Chargers star running back has missed the last two games with hip and knee injuries. Backup running backs Dexter McCluster, Branden Oliver, Kenneth Farrow, and Danny Woodhead are all currently sitting in IR. Ronnie Hillman is the last man standing as the Chargers starting running back.
On the other side, the Chiefs are no stranger to injuries. Starting defensive linemen Jaye Howard and Allen Bailey, starting linebackers Derrick Johnson and Josh Mauga are no longer starting for the Chiefs this season.
In the battle of the replacements neither side appears to have the advantage. On the Chargers all but Matt Slauson grade below an average starter by PFF. Football Outsiders shows that the Chargers are equally struggling in run blocking (23rd) as they are in pass blocking (24th).
Against them is a Chiefs line that features just one player graded below-average in Rakeem Nunez-Roches. However, the Chiefs rank in the bottom half of the league in run defending (28th) and pass rushing (24th) by Football Outsiders.
No matter who ends up starting the game it appears to be a battle of the stoppable force against the movable object. Expect there to be a lot of fireworks, but it might not make a difference.
KANSAS CITY, MO – DECEMBER 13: Quarterback Philip River
Philip Rivers vs. Chiefs Pass Defense
Philip Rivers very well could be his own undoing. Since week 10 Rivers has thrown 12 interceptions in six games. After three straight seasons with a 66%+ completion percentage Rivers has four straight games below 60% completion percentage.
Against Rivers is the team tied 3rd in the NFL with 16 interceptions. Since Terrance Mitchell became a regular in the secondary the Chiefs have allowed an average of just 180.3 passing yards per game. The Chiefs will be battling for playoff positioning, and the Chargers simply playing for pride. If the Chargers don’t get the game going their way early it could continue to look ugly for Philip Rivers.
Joey Bosa vs. Chiefs Offensive Line
One of the more interesting matchups to watch this weekend will be Bosa’s first game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Bosa missed his first opportunity after dealing with a lengthy contract dispute. Against the rest of the AFC West Joey Bosa has gone for three sacks and 10 tackles in four games.
Over the last six games the Chiefs offensive line has allowed just nine sacks with five of them coming from the Week 12 Chiefs vs. Broncos game. On the season the Chiefs rank 16th in the NFL with a sack rate of 5.8%. Offensive tackles Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz have played well in the second half of the season. The Chiefs inside linemen have given up a majority of the Chiefs accumulated sacks.
What will help the Chiefs the most against Bosa is the play design and gameplanning itself. Alex Smith is first in the NFL in getting the ball out (2.37 seconds per snap), and only Nick Foles (2.36 seconds) is faster when compared to any quarterback who has started a game.
Go Chiefs!
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