The Kansas City Chiefs have arrived in São Paulo, Brazil, for their regular-season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers on Friday night. The Chiefs are hoping to get off to a fast start against their AFC West rivals, whom they swept last season. However, there could be one small factor that could be a potential issue for both teams, and that’s the playing surface.
The Chiefs and Chargers are playing at Arena Corinthians, which is a soccer stadium. When the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers played there last season, the teams struggled with their footing and were slipping throughout the game.
Packers starting quarterback Jordan Love even suffered a lower-leg injury in the final seconds of that game. With that being said, one would hope that the Chiefs and the Chargers are taking extra precautions with their cleats.
Chiefs HC Andy Reid Optimistic About Week 1 Playing Surface in Brazil
On Thursday morning, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was asked about the playing conditions, and didn’t sound too concerned in his response.
“I know the league has spent time working on that. I think it'll be ripping and ready to go. Both teams will be playing on it,” Reid said (h/t ESPN’s Nate Taylor).
Kansas City fans hope Reid is right in his assessment, as they don’t want to see any of their starters or star players slip or lose their footing because that could cause an injury. That's especially true for a team that is already without Jalen Royals, Nazeeh Johnson, and a handful of other players to begin the new season.
The last time the Chiefs played an international game was during the 2023 season, when they played the Miami Dolphins in the NFL Frankfurt Games in Germany. The stadium where the Chiefs played was Deutsche Bank Park, which has a grass surface that is also used for soccer. Kansas City went on to win that game, 21-14, going into the bye week. KC fans certainly wouldn't mind a similar result on Friday night.
A clean game with no injuries, plus a win over the division rival in Week 1, would give the Chiefs plenty of momentum before Week 2's highly anticipated Super Bowl 59 rematch against the Philadelphia Eagles.