Monday Night Football: Week 11 Preview, KC at LAC

Are you ready for some fooooooootball? A Monday Night partyyyyyyy! Tonight on Monday Night Football we get a battle of AFC West hopefuls as the Chargers host the Chiefs. Except, this game is not taking place in LA, oh no sir (or ma’am), this game is happening in Mexico City!

Kansas City Chiefs at Los Angeles Chargers

Estadio Azteca

Mexico City

Betting

The insiders that I trust have the Chiefs (-275) winning this game. Obviously, -275 isn’t going to win us a lot of money. So, let’s look towards the spread and sprinkle some action on Chiefs -6.0 (-110). I don’t necessarily love the 6-point spread so play this one smart and not get too crazy. As for the total, UNDER 53.0 (-115) looks like the way to go in this one. The Chargers are consistently allowing and scoring around 20 points per game which should keep this game low-scoring. 

Injuries

UPDATE

CHARGERS INACTIVES
OL Sam Tevi
OL Russell Okung
WR Geremy Davis
RB Justin Jackson
LB Drue Tranquill
DT T.Y. McGill Jr.
QB Easton Stick

— Michael Fabiano (@Michael_Fabiano) November 18, 2019

CHIEFS INACTIVES
DE Alex Okafor
TE Blake Bell
OL Nick Allegretti
OL Jackson Barton
RB Darwin Thompson
QB Chad Henne
CB Kendall Fuller

— Michael Fabiano (@Michael_Fabiano) November 18, 2019

Despite being listed as questionable, Damien Williams is expected to play for the Chiefs tonight. Williams had to attend to a personal matter but should be full steam ahead on Monday Night Football. Elsewhere on the Chiefs roster, Blake Bell, Alex Okafor, and Tim Ward are OUT which leaves the team thin at TE and D-Line. Lastly, keep an eye on the status of Kendall Fuller as he is listed as questionable.

Most notably for the Chargers, Russell Okung and Sam Tevi are DOUBTFUL and OUT. Likely not having either of their starting OTs means that the Chiefs will have an advantageous matchup to rush Phillip Rivers. Other names to monitor include Geremy Davis and Roderic Teamer as they are both questionable to play. If Davis misses action, the Chargers will only have 4 healthy receivers available.

Chiefs Offense vs. Chargers Defense

I could sit here and list off all of Patrick Mahomes accolades but I don’t deem that necessary. Mahomes does have a tough matchup as the Chargers defense is one of the best in the NFL. However, with the pure talent at his disposal, Mahomes simply has too many ways to beat teams. Casey Hayward is one of, if not the top cornerback in the NFL and he’ll have to shutdown either Tyreek Hill or Sammy Watkins tonight. Will one of those 2 out of the equation, Mahomes will have to trust ol’ reliable Travis Kelce to work the middle of the field. The most intriguing thing to watch tonight will be the Chargers pass rush, specifically Joey Bosa, and the impact he has on a non-100% Mahomes.

Chargers Offense vs. Chiefs Defense

Coming off of their worst game of the season, Phillip Rivers and company are going to need to bounce back rather quickly. Melvin Gordon had his best game of the year since returning from an extended contract dispute, but the Chargers still struggled. The correlation may have something to do with the lack of Austin Ekeler involved in the gameplan. Ekeler has been the best weapon for the Chargers, yes, even more so than Keenan Allen. Rivers is going to feed Allen his targets and take shots to Mike Williams, but Ekeler needs to touch the ball 10+ times in order for this team to have success. The return of Hunter Henry has proved to be huge for this offense as well. As I mentioned earlier, the Chargers missing O-lineman will prove to be detrimental as the Chiefs will attack the immobile Rivers and force him to check the ball down.

Predictions

Chiefs: 31

Chargers: 21

Guaranteed Touchdown Scorer: Travis Kelce

Dart Throw Touchdown Scorer: Mecole Hardman

Conclusion

Who do you have winning on Monday Night Football tonight? Will Bosa sack Mahomes more than 2 times? Let me know in the comments below! Also, check out the shop and other content by clicking here.

-Mitchell Seefeldt

• Jeffrey Beall [CC BY 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons
• Jeffrey Beall [CC BY 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons
• Jeffrey Beall [CC BY 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons