Los Angeles Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs Open Thread

The Los Angeles Chargers (7-6) are on the road to face the Kansas City Chiefs (7-6) to determine which team will be in 1st place in the AFC West and have the inside track to finish the season as the division winner.

The Chargers have been one of the hottest teams in football for weeks now and in spite of a win over the Oakland Raiders last week, the Chiefs have been trending downward since their hot start to open the year.

Philip Rivers has been playing like an MVP candidate since the 0-4 start and is 2nd in DYAR behind Tom Brady and leading the NFL in DVOA. The Chiefs have long been a difficult matchup for Rivers, however, and Arrowhead Stadium, in particular, has not been a welcoming venue for him. It will be interesting to see if his excellent form is able to overcome his history of struggling against the division rival.

On defense, Joey Bosa and Melvin and Melvin Ingram are still the best pass rushing duo in the NFL. Casey Hayward, who is thankfully active tonight, is arguably the best cornerback in the NFL this year while Trevor Williams on the other side of the field would be the best cornerback on a majority of teams in the league. The linebackers and safeties are the weakest part of the defense, but that’s not especially damning when you realize we are talking about a clear top-10 defensive unit.

The Chargers are 1-point favorites on the road tonight. We have certainly come a long way from week 4 when the Chargers we re four games back of the Chiefs.