Chargers try to take advantage of soft Schedule

After three straight weeks of playing teams with winning records the Chargers are about to get a bit of a breather. San Diego will play the Chiefs and Browns in their next two games, starting with Kansas City at Qualcomm Stadium this Sunday. This will be the second meeting with their divisional foe this season, and the Chiefs have not played well this year, coming in at a mark of 3-7.

In their first meeting, back in week seven, the Chargers thumped the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium by a score of 37-7. Phillip Rivers was hot that day, throwing for over 260 yards and three touchdowns, and the Sand Diego defense also came up big with three turnovers. It was a game the Chargers desperately need at the time and have since been on a roll, winning five in a row. The Bolts have also taken over first place in the AFC West and will need to get a win against Kansas City to maintain sole possession since the Broncos defeated the Giants on Thanksgiving night.

The Chiefs have been one of the worst teams in the league this season, but might be playing their best football right now. Kansas City has won two games in a row, knocking off the Raiders and stunning the Steelers last week in overtime. Since releasing long time and often troubled running back Larry Johnson, Jamaal Charles has emerged as the Chiefs premiere back. In limited playing time he has rushed for over 300 yards and has given a boost to an otherwise lackluster Kansas City offense. Quarterback Matt Cassel, who was part of the big off-season trade between the Chiefs and Patriots, has also played well recently and had perhaps his best game of the season against Pittsburgh with over 240 yards passing and two touchdowns.

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With the way the Chargers defense has been playing lately, Cassel, Charles, and the rest of the Chiefs offense might not be much of a factor. Prior to their first meeting with the Chiefs, San Diego’s defense was the biggest concern the team was facing. Their pass defense was ranked near the bottom of the league and shutting down opposing teams’ running games wasn’t fairing much better. But things have almost completely turned around for the Chargers, and it all seems to have started with pressuring the quarterback. Led by Shawn Merriman and Shaun Phillips, the Chargers defense has made sacking the QB a routine part of their game, averaging over three and a half sacks per game during their five game winning streak.

On offense the Chargers will hope to have a similar day to the one in their first encounter with the Chiefs. At Arrowhead Stadium LaDainian Tomlinson rushed for 71 yards and Darren Sproles added 41 yards on the ground. Tomlinson has been coming on strong as of late with nearly a 100 yards rushing against the Eagles and over 7-0 against the Broncos. LT was part of a running back by committee strategy versus the Broncos in which the corp. group rushed for over 200 yards combined. With a rushing attack like this and the dependable Rivers, the Chargers should have a big day against an average Kansas City defense.

By Steven Mondelli
ProFootball-fans.com San Diego Chargers Correspondent