LA Chargers: Stopping Travis Kelce and the 5 keys to beating the Chiefs

2. Limiting turnovers as much as possible

In the last six games against the Chiefs, the LA Chargers have lost the turnover battle 17-2. That’s a +15 turnover differential for Kansas City. Frankly, with that number, it’s a miracle that the Chargers managed to get a win over the Chiefs in the 2018 season.

Philip Rivers threw six (!!!) interceptions against the Chiefs in 2019 alone. He threw four of those picks in the Mexico game that was separated by just seven points in the final score. If Rivers doesn’t throw the Daniel Sorensen interception, the Chargers probably would’ve gotten to overtime in that game.

The fact that the Chargers were still in that Week 11 game after committing so many turnovers was a miracle in and of itself. The defense can contain Mahomes, as they held him to 178 yards passing on average in the two games last year even with all the turnovers.

Some may say that Tyrod Taylor‘s game manager nature evens out with Philip Rivers’ interception habit, but I simply don’t think that’s true. Punting the ball to Kansas City isn’t nearly as bad as a Tyrann Mathieu interception that puts them six yards away from the end zone.

The importance of protecting the ball with how competitive the Chargers have been against the Chiefs can’t be stressed enough.