Laddie Morse
It’s AFC West Divisional Football time. That should be good news for long time Chiefs fans because Patrick Mahomes has owned the West in his career with the Kansas City Chiefs:
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You’ve heard me (and David Bell) talk about David’s 17 point limit for the defense. Here, Nick Wright of First Things First talks about how the Chiefs have scored at least 21 points in each of their games this season (1:48):
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Elephant in the Room: #1
No, I’m not talking about the Chargers list of injured players — yet — but am referring to Travis Kelce and his numbers so far this season.
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Travis Kelce has had some of his best games against the Chargers during his illustrious career. That may be part of the problem so far this season, Kelce’s year doesn’t match up to his illustrious career. From StatMuse.com:
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“Travis Kelce has had 100 catches for 1,223 yards
and has scored 9 touchdowns in 18 games versus
the Chargers in his career.”
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While Travis may not be having a Kelce-esk season — so far — he is on the verge of making YAC history in the NFL . . .
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Elephant in the Room: 2
The Chargers Injury Report:
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Yes, the list is long… that’s what makes this the “Elephant in the Room: #2.” On top of the injuries, their star Safety, Derwin James has been suspended for this game. Which means… Mr. Elephant in the Room: #1 may not have much of a challenge going off… or having a breakout game. However, Derwin James hasn’t held Travis Kelce to a low number of yards in recent years anyway, so there’s no reason to think the Chargers will have success doing that this time around.
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The most important question for the Chargers, to this point, is whether their QB, Justin Herbert, will start or not? While I want the Chiefs to play against the best and beat them, I don’t want to ever see a player put his future in jeopardy.
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“TE, Hayden Hurst – An Achilles injury left the veteran
tight end limited at practice earlier this week, but he has
been cleared to play and removed from the injury report
ahead of Sunday’s game against the Chiefs. He should
start and see his usual workload….”
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The Chargers TE, Hayden Hurst, has an Achilles issue and it’s hard to believe he can overcome such a dramatic injury in no time at all. I’ve found information on him that says he will play, but his impact should not be felt in this game. While Joe Alt (Jr.) will try to give it a go, that’s likely because the Chargers are playing against his father’s old team, the Chiefs.
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Chiefs Injury Report
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“[DE, Mike] Danna has been ruled out due to a
calf injury. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said
Danna would sit out during this contest.”
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It’s been speculated that DE Cameron Thomas will be activated to see what he can do in replacement role for Danna. Thomas was a 3rd round pick (87th overall) for the Arizona Cardinals in the 2022 NFL Draft and traded to the Chiefs at the end of August for a 2025 7th round pick.
While it sounds like the Chargers will be without many of their stars, let’s not forget that K.C. will be without: WR Hollywood Brown, DE Charles Omenihu, RB Isiah Pacheco and RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire on top of Mike Danna, all starters at one time. First round pick, Felix Anudike-Uzomah (FAU) will draw the starting assignment in Danna’s absence.
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Weather
The Weather Conditions in the L.A. area around So-Fi Stadium doesn’t matter much because So-Fi is an enclosed structure. However, here are the weather conditions in that area for later today:
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From Weather.com – Photo Credit
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32 Predictions
actionnetwork.com says the Chiefs are 7.5 point favorites.
Here are all the other predictions from chargers.com:
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Looks like a clean sweep in favor of the Chiefs. My take is, this is a breakout game for Travis Kelce. Oh… and the Chiefs win big.
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What do you think?
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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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