The Los Angeles Chargers are looking to pick up a win at their first game played in SoFi Stadium against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
The Chargers offense wasn’t particularly inspiring in the season opener, but there is an opportunity to flip the script taking on the Chiefs defense.
Here are three keys for the Chargers offense against the Chiefs defense in Week 2:
Exploit the secondary
The Chargers had a few solid moments in the passing game in Week 1, but it wasn’t particularly their strong suit. Facing an inexperienced Chiefs secondary, quarterback Tyrod Taylor and his pass-catchers have an opportunity to turn it around.
Kansas City will be without their top cornerback, Charvarius Ward, who is out with a hand injury. Rookie L’Jarius Sneed, Rashad Fenton and Antonio Hamilton could have their hands full with wide receivers Keenan Allen, Mike Williams and tight end Hunter Henry.
Allen is looking to have a bounce back performance after struggling to produce against the Bengals. In the two contests with the Chiefs last season, Allen caught 17 passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Henry and Williams look to continue their dominance. In the first week, Henry hauled in five of his eight targets for 73 yards while Williams had four receptions for 68 yards.
Pound the rock
While the Chargers will have a good chance at thriving through the air, the chances of them doing the same on the ground are high.
Against the Texans’ running game, Kansas City’s defense allowed 5.4 yards per carry, which was the second-highest rate in the NFL. The reason for that was because of the depleted linebacker group.
Los Angeles ran the ball for 155 yards in the season opener, led by the performances of Austin Ekeler and rookie Joshua Kelley. The group will be the eager to give fits to the positional group.
Limit the pressure
The Chiefs’ linebacker corps and secondary might not be optimal, but the guys up front are more than capable of masking the deficiencies.
Defensive tackle Chris Jones and defensive ends Frank Clark and Tanoh Kpassagnon were a problem in Week 1, combining for 16 total pressures. As a whole, they produced four sacks on Texans QB Deshaun Watson.
Clark has been an issue for L.A. in recent play. He totaled 14 pressures and two sacks in the two games against the Bolts last season, and Jones has 3.5 sacks in his last three meetings with them.
While the Chargers didn’t allow a sack last Sunday, Taylor was pressured on 32.4% of his dropbacks, which is the 10th highest rate in the league.
Los Angeles will be missing center Mike Pouncey, who was placed on the injured reserve. However, Dan Feeney showed promise in place of Pouncey while Forrest Lamp did the same at left guard. The offensive line will also gain Trai Turner, who missed Week 1 with a knee injury.