Los Angeles is on the verge of losing a ninth straight AFC West title, as a loss to the Chiefs on Sunday Night Football would eliminate the AFC West. Chargers of divisional conflict. Thanks to a bevy of lucky bounces, Kansas City sits at a league-best 11-1 record and has already clinched a playoff spot.
Here are some reasons to worry that Los Angeles will lose its seventh straight game to the Chiefs.
How limited will Ladd McConkey be?
McConkey entered last week’s game with a shoulder injury, but had the best first half of his young NFL career with over 100 receiving yards while struggling against the Falcons. However, a knee injury early in the second half was too much to overcome, and now the Chargers’ leading receiver is questionable after three straight limited drives.
LA has relied on McConkey as much as possible this season, as he has emerged as the only consistently reliable option for Justin Herbert and the passing offense. If he gets hampered, the Chargers could have trouble moving the ball again.
Men’s Coverage Issues
Outside of McConkey, Chargers receivers have had a lot of trouble against man coverage. Quentin Johnston and Joshua Palmer had trouble separating, while Johnston’s low win rate on contested catches repeatedly put the Chargers in tough situations offensively. Without many other options available – Derius Davis and Jalen Reagor saw time primarily as gadget players and DJ Chark only played 2 snaps last week – LA is lacking at wide receiver.
Kansas City is the sixth most covered player in the league this season, with 171 head-to-head games. This could compound McConkey’s problem: If he’s unable to operate at peak efficiency, the Chargers don’t have a clear option to create easy passing opportunities against a defense coordinated by Steve Spagnuolo that should be quite top-heavy. in men.
Run game inconsistencies
Los Angeles finished with just 56 rushing yards last week, their second-lowest total of the season. Gus Edwards led the charge with 5.3 yards per carry, but he only had six attempts as the Chargers turned to a more pass-heavy scenario against the Falcons.
Since the loss of JK Dobbins (knee), the Chargers have been reluctant to run the ball much, which has put even more pressure on the passing game to perform at a high level. If Los Angeles can’t get the running game going, which offensive coordinator Greg Roman mentioned this week, Los Angeles will be in trouble. With Chris Jones ready to destroy the Chargers’ weak interior offensive line, there’s not much reason to believe this will be the week they start.
Health improves
Kansas City is healthier, even with receivers Rashee Rice and Hollywood Brown and cornerback Jaylen Watson out for the season. The Chiefs got running back Isiah Pacheco back last week, putting him in action after suffering a leg injury against the Raiders. Kansas City has just one player on the injury report heading into Sunday: wide receiver Mecole Hardman, who was injured in practice Friday and is questionable.
Los Angeles is also healthier, but the absence of linebacker Denzel Perryman (groin) for the third straight game will likely hurt. Safety Tony Jefferson (hamstring) is questionable after a strong performance last week, which leaves Derwin James, Elijah Molden and Marcus Maye as the team’s only healthy safeties on the active roster.
Third battle
The Chiefs have had some of their luck this season by converting third downs at a league-best rate, moving the sticks 51.83 percent of the time. Kansas City finished 9 of 16 on third down last week against Las Vegas, thanks in large part to Patrick Mahomes.
Defensive coordinator Jesse Minter said this week when asked: “It starts with Patrick. His football IQ level and his sense of third down, the coverages you play, the rush lanes, the coverage of men, zone coverage.” , protection and protection management.”
Los Angeles is second in third-down conversion rate allowed at 33.33 percent, but the Chargers’ offense has converted just 37.74 percent of the time. Lose the third battle and LA could quickly find itself stripped of its possessions in a crucial contest.
This article was originally published on Chargers Wire: Chargers cause concern in Week 14 against Chiefs
