The Kansas City Chiefs are 4-0, but Andy Reid is treating Sunday afternoon like a trap waiting to be sprung. Ahead of the Chiefs vs Chargers matchup in Week 6, Reid said Kansas City has to stay on its toes against a Los Angeles team that may be winless, but is still drawing respect inside the division.
That is why readers are searching this game now. The Chiefs go in unbeaten, while the Los Angeles Chargers are 0-5 and facing a major test before a Week 7 bye. Reid said, “Well, you expect the unexpected,” when asked about Chargers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, and added that “He’s a sharp mind and very creative, so you’ve got to be on your toes.” He also said, “Jim (Harbaugh), likewise. I mean, you have two guys in there that are real good football guys, offensive minds.”
The matchup matters because it is an AFC West division game, and division games do not care about records on paper. Kansas City has been through this kind of warning before. Reid led a Chiefs team that started 1-5 in 2015 and still reached the postseason, a reminder that a poor start does not end a season and that an unbeaten favorite can still get pulled into a fight if it is careless.
Los Angeles brings that kind of urgency into Sunday with a lengthy injury report that includes Joe Alt, Rashawn Slater and Tre Harris. If those absences hold, the Chargers will have to patch together protection and passing targets while trying to stay afloat at 0-5. Tom Pelissero said the team is rejecting trade calls and does not plan a fire sale because it believes it is close to turning it around, a striking stance for a club that has not won yet and is heading into its bye with little margin left.
That is the real tension around Chiefs vs Chargers: one side has every reason to think long term, and the other cannot afford to think past Sunday. Kansas City has a clean record to protect. Los Angeles has to show, against the best kind of measuring stick, that its season is not already slipping away.
For more on the broader Kansas City picture, see Chiefs Vs Chargers Patrick Mahomes Update: Mahomes Forgot Halloween During NFL Focus.
