The LA Chargers take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2.
Although the LA Chargers got the victory in Week 1, their performance against the Bengals and rookie quarterback Joe Burrow left a lot to be desired.
Ten unanswered points for the Bolts in the fourth quarter is what sealed the deal, however, I think it’s incredibly fair to say Joe Burrow in his rookie debut outplayed Tyrod Taylor and handled himself with utmost professionalism and poise against a Charger defense with a lot of star players on it.
That last drive by Burrow was fantastic, and if not for an offensive pass interference call on AJ Green to call back a touchdown, the Bengals would’ve won this game.
In my opinion, I think the Chargers got pretty lucky in Week 1 to come out of there with the win. Burrow did very well against their defense, and then he led the Bengals to what should have probably been a game-winning drive.
After that, the Bengals lost in such a fashion that the Chargers have been all too familiar with these last few seasons in heartbreak due to Randy Bullock pulling his hamstring on the game-tying field goal to end regulation.
Somebody was looking out for the Chargers last week because everything that could’ve gone wrong down the stretch for the Bengals in that game, went wrong. Feels pretty nice to have the shoe on the other foot if you’re a Chargers fan.
Side note, when are we going to be done with kickers in professional football? I like my football games decided by football players, personally. I don’t know how the rest of you feel.
As for the performance of the Bolts themselves, I think they got a pretty good look of what Joshua Kelley can do with 60 yards rushing on 12 carries and a TD. Austin Ekeler did very well too going for 84 yards on 19 carries. Overall, I was a bit shockingly surprised by how well the Bolts did on the ground.
Tyrod Taylor and the passing game didn’t pop very much, and that’s really going to be an issue this week, I believe.
In order to beat a team like the Kansas City Chiefs, you need to be able to throw the football and at least match what they’re putting down on that side of the ball.
Judging by what I saw opening night with the Chiefs, not only can they burn the ball down the field better than anybody in the league, but now they also have a nice little run game with Clyde Edwards-Helaire. HUGE boost in your offensive scheme if you’re the Chiefs who were weaker in the run department.
The Chargers have not been all that successful against the Chiefs in recent memory. They’ve lost 11 of 12 to KC and Patrick Mahomes is 3-1 against them. Andy Reid certainly appears to have this team’s number even though they might very well be the team in the division who plays the Chiefs the best on a consistent basis of the three.
Tyrod Taylor and that passing game worry me. I don’t believe it will be able to keep up with Mahomes if the game plan is to air the ball out. Where the Bolts might be able to get some leverage is if their run game can step up again and keep Mahomes on the sidelines. The way to win this game is clock management and pounding the run game.
If the Bolts can somehow figure that out, I think y’all are going to be very surprised at the result on Sunday. This is a big test for the revamped run defense of the Chargers. They lost Drue Tranquill last week, but now is the time for their new acquisition Linval Joseph to step up and be the run stopper he is. Now is the time for Kenneth Murray to break out at the linebacker position.
I’m giving the Bolts a chance here. If they can slow the game down and keep Mahomes off the field, they might be able to pull something off. But ultimately, I have the Chiefs winning this game 33-18.
Too dominant are the Chiefs in recent years over this team. Too many weapons for even a stacked Charger secondary to deal with. I don’t think the Bolts have the firepower to keep pace with what the Chiefs can do on offense.