3 distinct advantages the Chargers have over the Chiefs in 2022

3. A much better defense

The Achilles Heel for the Kansas City Chiefs during the team's current run has always been the defense. There have been times when the Chiefs have figured it out and played good defense but for the most part, that has been the weak part of the team.

There was a lot of buzz last season that the Chiefs figured out the defensive side of the football as they strung together a few good performances. However, when you took a look under the hood, it became clear that their defensive turnaround had more to do with who they were playing.

The Chargers had no problems scoring 28 points against them late in the season and if Brandon Staley was not as aggressive on fourth down, the Chargers would have scored over 30.

To be fair, the Bolts were one of the worst defensive teams in the league last season, so a Chiefs fan might look at this as simply being biased. While the Chargers were awful defensively last season, the team has completely rebuilt that side of the football this offseason.

LA added an entirely new interior defensive line, an All-Pro edge rusher (who is not an All-Pro anymore but is still very, very good), a true CB1 and plenty of secondary depth. The Chargers have the tools to be more like the 2020 Rams defense that Brandon Staley coached to be first in the league.

Meanwhile, the Chiefs lost key members of the secondary and had to rebuild. To be fair to them, Trent McDuffie is a fantastic pick-up as he should be great in the league, but overall, the defensive side of the ball got even worse in Kansas City.

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As long as the Chargers do not get in their own way, they should be able to outlast the Chiefs in the AFC West race while also having a good chance of beating the team twice.