KC Chiefs: Four things to watch vs Los Angeles Chargers in week 17

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - NOVEMBER 18: LeSean McCoy #25 of the Kansas City Chiefs spins out of Thomas Davis #58 of the Los Angeles Chargers tackle during an NFL football game on Monday, November 18, 2019, in Mexico City. The Chiefs defeated the Chargers 24-17. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - NOVEMBER 18: LeSean McCoy #25 of the Kansas City Chiefs spins out of Thomas Davis #58 of the Los Angeles Chargers tackle during an NFL football game on Monday, November 18, 2019, in Mexico City. The Chiefs defeated the Chargers 24-17. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images) /
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We’ve arrived to the end of the regular season where it’ll be the KC Chiefs hosting the Los Angeles Chargers to wrap up the 2019 season.

When the NFL put the 2019 schedule together, they probably thought this week 17 match-up between the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers would be a much bigger game than what it is. After all, these teams both went 12-4 last year and had they squared off in week 17 last year, that’d have been a highly entertaining game.

Instead, the Chargers have won just five games in 2019 while the Chiefs are sitting at 11-4 with a chance to match their 2018 record. The difference this year is that while a year ago, KC had the one seed, this time around they’re sitting in the three seed at the moment.

There’s a lot on the line in this one and we’ll dive into that, and more, with our weekly “what to watch for” edition. Let’s take a look!

A LOT ON THE LINE

The Chiefs will most certainly be scoreboard watching when they kick off at noon because the Patriots also play at noon on Sunday. Should New England lose to the Dolphins and the Chiefs win, then Kansas City gets bumped up to the two seed and would have next weekend off.

More than likely, however, the Patriots will beat up on the Fins, and the Chiefs will, in all likelihood, sit as the three seed come Wild Card weekend. If Kansas City loses on Sunday and the Texans win (they play in the later slate of games), then the Chiefs would drop down to the four seed due to Houston having the head-to-head advantage.

If the Patriots are leading big over the Dolphins in the second half, and the Chiefs get a big lead over the Chargers, then don’t be surprised if we see quite a few backups in the game.

THE END OF AN ERA?

Sunday very well could mark the end of Philip Rivers‘ Chargers career. He’s been pretty bad this year and the team has to start looking toward the future eventually, so this seems like a good time to say good-bye to the former fourth overall pick.

If this indeed the end for Rivers in a Chargers uniform, he’ll have finished his career either one game over .500 or one game under .500 against them (he currently is 14-14 against Kansas City). It’s been over a decade of Chiefs fans despising Rivers, but we all have to admit, he was a fun villain to root against and we’ll miss him and his interceptions dearly.

WHO CAN RUN THE BALL BETTER?

Neither of these teams has been particularly good at running the football in 2019. The Chiefs sit 23rd in the league when it comes to rushing yards per game while the Chargers rank 27th in the same stat.

With Melvin Gordon not showing much this year, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Chargers also move on from him this offseason and draft a running back. The Chiefs ought to do the same when it comes to the draft.

It’ll be interesting to see which run game stands out more in this one, as the Chiefs haven’t been able to consistently run the ball well in 2019 and the Chargers have been hit or miss (most recently, miss).

HOW MUCH OF THE STARTERS WILL WE SEE?

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As mentioned in the first section, the KC Chiefs have a lot to play for on Sunday so they’ll definitely have their starters out there. If the Chiefs get off to a big lead, however, it won’t be shocking to see the starters removed no matter what the Patriots score is.

If for some reason this game ends up being close, perhaps the starters play the entire time, but otherwise, don’t expect to see Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and company out there for very long.

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Even though the Los Angeles Chargers have struggled this season, they gave the Chiefs all they could handle in Mexico City last month. With nothing to play for other than potentially spoil KC’s playoff standings, it’ll be interesting to see how long the Chargers actually care in this game. Maybe they want revenge for the Chiefs ruining their season in week 17 in 2014.

You never know how much teams have left in the tank when week 17 rolls around.