Chiefs are making needless preseason mistake that could help the Chargers

If the LA Chargers are going to reach the ultimate goal of winning a Super Bowl then the team has to go through the Kansas City Chiefs. It goes deeper than just winning the AFC West and stopping the Chiefs' dominance as any postseason run for the Bolts will likely include a game against Kansas City.

The Chiefs are the standard that every other team measures itself against and after back-to-back Super Bowls Kansas City somehow enters the 2024 season with more promise. Jim Harbaugh changes the culture and will hopefully make the Chargers a long-term winner, but this is still the Chiefs' yard.

With the talent difference between the two teams, the Chargers need the Chiefs to slip up to have any chance of outlasting them in the AFC West. Kansas City might be doing that this weekend in the preseason as the team is making the risky decision to play the starters for the entire first half vs. the Detroit Lions.

This preseason decision could haunt the Chiefs, help the Chargers

Whether or not a team should play starters in the preseason has become a hot topic of debate in recent years. For the last three years, former Chargers head coach Brandon Staley was completely against the idea of playing the starters and would hold each one out of action.

Harbaugh has a softer stance than Staley but there were still many healthy Chargers starters who did not suit up in Week 1 against the Seattle Seahawks. If any starters do play, it will likely be a small amount as the Bolts are being cautious with their health.

The Chiefs have nothing to prove and really have no reason to risk needless injury by playing their starters in the preseason. While there will be new wrinkles to the playbook with new receivers, the Chiefs have the same offense with the same quarterback. The team does not need to work through "learning the playbook" like other teams do.

Thus, this becomes a pointless risk for Kansas City to take. The Chiefs have already been hit with some bad injury luck as Marquise Brown left the first game with an injury and Jawaan Taylor suffered an injury in practice.

Brown will miss the start of the regular season while there are no long-term concerns about Taylor. Either way, the Chiefs have a chance to avoid more injuries like this by simply resting the starters in the preseason.

Instead, Kansas City is playing with fire and it could end up benefitting the Chargers. Nobody should ever root for injuries, but it goes without saying that Kansas City is a much different team if star players get hurt (as is the case with every team).

And if something were to happen to Patrick Mahomes, well that would derail the Chiefs' entire season and could result in them missing the playoffs altogether. Logically, Kansas City should be trying to avoid this, not put Mahomes in a position where it could happen.