The LA Chargers walloped the Pittsburgh Steelers on primetime, but you never would have known that if you were only listening to the broadcast audio. Instead, you would have thought it was a Kansas City Chiefs celebration broadcast.
As is usually the case when the Chargers play on primetime, the NBC broadcast team took a moment to laud the Chiefs in a game they weren't even playing. This instance was even more egregious than the typical Chiefs lovefest, though, as Cris Collinsworth showed his bias by momentarily forgetting the facts.
The broadcast displayed the AFC West standings in a graphic that also included each team's chance of winning the division. The Denver Broncos led the way, naturally, and the Chiefs had a higher percentage than the Chargers despite trailing them in the standings.
That's when Collinsworth dropped his bomb of falsehood. While discussing the division, Collinsworth tried making the point that none of the teams in the AFC West would beat the Chiefs at a neutral site (alluding to some kind of AFC-only Super Bowl? We're not entirely sure what the point was meant to be.).
There's just one problem: the Chargers already beat the Chiefs on a neutral field. Week 1. In Brazil.
Cris Collinsworth shows inherent Chiefs bias, forgets the Chargers already beat them in Brazil
I mean, to be fair to Collinsworth, the Chargers were listed as the home team in the matchup against the Chiefs. Maybe he just glanced at the schedule, saw the Chargers listed as the home team, and forgot it was in Brazil.
After all, the game was streamed live on YouTube as the first free-to-watch NFL game. Maybe Colinsworth couldn't figure out the YouTube feature and skipped the game entirely after calling the first game of the season on Thursday. Who knows.
The NFL season is long, and mistakes like this do happen... although they probably shouldn't happen when you are one of the voices of the league on a national broadcast. Chargers fans don't need Collinsworth leading the Bolts parade against the Chiefs, we just need him not to get his facts mixed up. He may not have meant to, but he disrespected the Chargers.
Chargers fans know the Bolts can beat the Chiefs on a neutral site... not that it matters for two AFC teams. Chargers fans also know the Bolts can beat the Chiefs in Kansas City, as Justin Herbert has done so in the past.
Maybe the Chargers will get the respect they deserve if they sweep the season series against the Chiefs. The Chargers will get their opportunity in Week 15 and we hope Collinsworth will watch.