Most teams and coaches don't appreciate getting an early bye week. It's usually better to save it for later when players are more banged up and need rest the most. Unfortunately, schedule makers didn't do the Kansas City Chiefs any favors this time.
However, that doesn't mean their bye week won't give them a great opportunity. Not only did the Chiefs get more time to prepare for a divisional matchup that could take their AFC West record to 3-0, but they can also effectively end a divisional rival's season.
The Chiefs will host the 0-5 Los Angeles Chargers at Arrowhead Stadium, and as desperate as they will be to live for another day, there's simply no excuse or margin for error: The Chiefs must win in dominant fashion in Week 6.
The Chiefs can't blow this home game vs. the slumping Chargers
Everything that could've gone wrong for the Chargers has gone terribly wrong this season. Most of their losses haven't been that close, and Justin Herbert might be the latest Adam Gase victim, as Jim Harbaugh brought him in as the offensive pass coordinator.
The Chargers look like a team that knows they can't turn things around. They're poorly coached, Herbert hasn't gotten a hold of Mike McDaniel's offense, and he's playing the worst football of his career. To add insult to injury, he's playing behind a makeshift offensive line full of rookies.
After five games, the Chargers rank dead last in offensive EPA/play (-0.21). Their 16.8 PPG average is the third-worst in pro football, and their 37.8 percent success rate is the fourth-worst. On defense, they're holding quarterbacks to just 205 passing yards per game, the sixth-best mark, but their record still reads 0-5.
Fighting your way back from a 0-5 start to the season is almost impossible. In fact, no team has ever made the playoffs after dropping their first games of the season. Needless to say, another loss would all but put the last nail in their coffin.
Watching the Chargers implode and be forced to be sellers at the November 10 trade deadline is obviously a huge win for the rest of the AFC West. Watching Donte Jackson, Khalil Mack, and maybe even Derwin James Jr. leave would be great news for Kansas City.
A blowout win by KC paired with another strong defensive performance can also signal the beginning of the end of the Justin Herbert era in Los Angeles. The Chargers are likely to finish with a top-5 pick, and they might be tempted to hit the reset button and roll with one of the promising signal-callers about to enter the league.
The table is set for another statement win to keep building momentum. The Chiefs are well-rested and have the better offense, defense, special teams, and coaching staff. There's no reason not to get the job done.
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