Game Overview ::
By mike johnson >>
- The Chiefs are locked in as the No. 3 seed in the AFC and essentially have nothing to play for.
- Patrick Mahomes has already been ruled out for this game and Blaine Gabbert will draw the start.
- Isiah Pacheco, Rashee Rice and Travis Kelce seem highly unlikely to play as well, as they are nursing injuries and key pieces to the offense.
- Easton Stick will make his fourth consecutive start for the Chargers and hopes to get his first win as a starting quarterback.
- The Chiefs will also likely sit several key defensive players, which gives Chargers offensive pieces easier paths to good statistical games.
How KANSAS CITY Will Try To Win ::
The Chiefs have the No. 3 seed in the AFC wrapped up and are going to be resting Mahomes in this game. They also seem likely to give the week off to key offensive skill players Kelce, Pacheco and Rice with an eye towards the playoffs. The Chiefs’ offense is generally a relatively spread-out scheme and they will likely be rotating a lot of players on and off the field at their skill positions.Gabbert is in line to start, and while logic would dictate that they will call a very different game for him than they did for Mahomes, the reality is that Mahomes has been very conservative this season due to the team’s overall offensive issues and things may not change too much.
The Chiefs have been near the top of the league in Pass Rate Over Expectation (PROE) for the last several years and that has continued this year. Meanwhile, former offensive coordinator Eric Bienemy has taken over the same position with the Commanders this season and also had an extremely high PROE despite far less talent at the quarterback position and the skill positions. This signals that the Chiefs’ offensive approach is likely to maintain a pass-centric approach that has a great deal of motion and misdirection while passes are focused on the short to intermediate areas of the field. The Chargers’ defense has been anything but a stalwart for most of this season, and it wouldn’t be shocking for a good offensive coach (Andy Reid) to be able to create yards and points against them this week. The overall nature of the Chiefs’ offense makes it unlikely that they would turn into a run-centric unit in this spot, but there is a bit more uncertainty around how they will play than when Mahomes is under center.
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