The Chargers' last 10 AM PT window away game was not pleasant. Right before the BYE week, LA dropped the revenge game in Jacksonville by a score of 35-6.
That also wasn't their only sluggish game on the east coast this season. The Chargers needed comeback wins to defeat well under .500 Tennessee and Miami teams on the road. In Week 4, the Giants ended the Chargers' then undefeated 3-0 season by handing them an early window loss in New Jersey.
Chargers HC Jim Harbaugh says the team finally made a big early window game adjustment before rematch with Chiefs.
The Chargers made a change to practice earlier in the mornings this week in preparation for the Kansas City game in the 10 AM window. Yesterday, practice was over by the time Jim Harbaugh had his media availability at around 11:30 AM PT. He was asked about making the practice schedule adjustment for Chiefs week:
"We checked into some sleep study, Harbaugh said. "Checked with experts and that was one of the recommendations."
Harbaugh credited Chargers Director of Player Health, Wellness & Performance Marco Zucconi with the idea and planning. Zucconi spoke to sleep experts at UCLA this week, per Harbaugh.
"We're always looking for a suggestion that will help us," Harbaugh explained. "We thought that was a good one."
After the Chargers face the Chiefs, they'll have another 10 AM PT early window away game vs. the Dallas Cowboys. Los Angeles also faces the possibility of having to travel to the East Coast for key playoff matchups if they are a wild-card team.
New England, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Buffalo, Jacksonville, and Indianapolis are all Eastern Time Zone teams with a chance to win their respective divisions. The Houston Texans are also a Central Time Zone team like the Chiefs and Cowboys should they win the AFC South.
The question might be why the Chargers didn't make this adjustment earlier in the season. But in fairness, they did have a decently rough schedule hand dealt to them in regards to the Brazil game and travel during the first half of the year. After the BYE week, things have evened out a bit for the Chargers as they had back to back home wins at SoFi vs. Las Vegas and Philadelphia.
We'll see whether the time zone and sleep adjustment pays off for the Chargers over the next two weeks. But it's nice to see the team acknowledging their sluggish performances on the road this season. If they are a Wild Card team come January, this offense cannot afford early deficits against some of the potential east coast AFC opponents.