Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Here are a few matchups to watch in Week 18.
The Chargers’ roster will go through a final audition on Sunday before the offseason begins, promising a complete overhaul of LA’s roster going into the 2024 season.
With a battle against the Chiefs’ backups on deck, here are a few matchups to watch in the contest.
Here are a few storylines to track in the game between the Chargers and Chiefs..
Los Angeles mercifully ends their season on Sunday afternoon, matching up with a Chiefs team locked into the No. 3 seed in the AFC playoffs. Blaine Gabbert will start for Kansas City, his first start since 2018.
Here are a few storylines to track in the game.
Find out who the experts are picking between the Chargers and Chiefs.
The Chargers are 3.5-point favorites over the Chiefs in Week 18 of the 2023 regular season. The over/under is 35 points, per BetMGM Sportsbook.
That means oddsmakers are taking bets on whether the two teams will combine to score more than or fewer than 35 points.
My score prediction for the game is a 20-17 win for the Chiefs, with a combined total of 37 points. So if I were putting money behind my prediction, I’d bet the over.
As for game picks, most analysts are picking Kansas City to win.
| Expert | Pick |
| Dan Graziano (ESPN) | Chiefs |
| Sam Farmer (Los Angeles Times) | Chargers |
| Tyler Sullivan (CBS Sports) | Chiefs |
| John Breech (CBS Sports) | Chiefs |
| The Athletic | Chiefs (7 to 5) |
| Ryan Reynolds (The 33rd Team) | Chiefs |
| NFL.com Staff | Chargers (3 to 2) |
| Athlon Sports | Chiefs (3 to 0) |
Sunday’s game will begin at 1:25 p.m. PT and will be televised on CBS.
Find out if you will get the matchup between the Chargers and Chiefs on national television.
The Los Angeles Chargers (5-11) are set to get Week 18 underway against the Kansas City Chiefs (10-6).
Those in the green area on the TV map will get the game on CBS, courtesy of 506 Sports.
If you’re in the red area, you will get the matchup between the Bears and Packers.
If you’re in the blue area, you will get the matchup between the Eagles and Giants.
Spero Dedes and Adam Archuleta will have the call.
Los Angeles is currently a 3.5-point favorite over Kansas City. Sunday’s matchup will begin at 1:25 p.m. PT.
The Chargers had six non participants.
The Chargers had their second practice in preparation for Sunday’s game against the Chiefs on Thursday.
Los Angeles had six non-participants: Keenan Allen (heel), Joey Bosa (foot), Justin Hollins (shoulder), Zion Johnson (neck), Kenneth Murry (shoulder) and Nick Williams (shoulder).
Deane Leonard (heel), Joshua Palmer (concussion), Trey Pipkins (wrist), Stone Smartt (shoulder) and Tuli Tuipulotu (ankle) were limited.
As for the Chiefs, they had five non-participants: Chris Jones, Rashee Rice, L’Jarius Sneed, Kadarius Toney and Donovan Smith.
The Chargers will close out the season at home against the Chiefs.
The date, time and television network have officially been announced for the Chargers’ Week 18 game against the Chiefs.
The two teams will kick things off from SoFi Stadium at 1:25 pm PT on Sunday, Jan. 7. The game will be broadcast on CBS.
Los Angeles enters this contest with a 5-11 record and currently holds the No. 6 overall selection in the 2024 NFL draft.
Kansas City comes into this game having just secured the AFC West title for the eighth consecutive season. They are 10-6.
Here is what the national media thinks of the Chargers after their loss to the Chiefs.
The Chargers are coming off a loss to the Chiefs.
Here is what the national media thinks of the Bolts ahead of Week 8:
USA Today: 21 (Previous: 19)
“How is it possible that a team with OLBs Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa hunting opposing quarterbacks ranks last defending the pass?”
Touchdown Wire: 15 (Previous: 12)
“I can’t keep defending the Chargers, man. It feels like Justin Herbert is going to have a Matthew Stafford career arc. We know he’s talented, but he’s never going to win in Los Angeles.”
NFL: 22 (Previous: 14)
“It took too long for the Chargers to get out of the zone defense that Patrick Mahomes was carving up on Sunday. Asante Samuel Jr.’s interception seemed to inspire the coaches to play more man, and it worked, as the Chiefs scored 14 points on their final six possessions (vs. 17 on their first four). The Chargers ultimately gave up too much ground early, a familiar theme this season. Even so, this offense has just been way too inconsistent. The Bolts have now struggled to score in three straight second halves (they registered zero points in two of those halves), committing turnovers in each. Is it a Justin Herbert problem? A Kellen Moore problem? Some other factor? Whatever the case, until that trend changes, the Bolts will look like a non-playoff team.”
CBS Sports: 18 (Previous: 21)
“At 3-4, the heat has to be on Brandon Staley. The offense hasn’t improved that much with Kellen Moore, and Justin Herbert is turning it over too much”
ESPN: 18 (Previous: 14)
Young riser: OLB Tuli Tuipulotu
“The Chargers second-round pick turned 21 last month and has been one of the team’s most consistent players. He has the fourth-most quarterback pressures (16) among rookies and had 10 in Week 3 — the second most a rookie has had in a game since 2016, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. “Is he ahead of schedule?” coach Brandon Staley said. “I think he’s on schedule. I think he’s right on schedule. This guy, we had a strong feeling about this guy in the springtime.”
Yahoo Sports: 17 (Previous: 14)
“Last season, Justin Herbert had a 101.3 passer rating in the first halves of games, and 85.5 in the second half (also 50.3 in overtime). This season, Herbert has a 110.4 rating in the first half, 84.1 in the second half and went 0-for-3 in his only overtime appearance. The Chargers had a chance to beat the Chiefs on Sunday but the offense totally stalled in the second half. Herbert mostly gets a pass from criticism but the truth is he has to come up bigger late in games, particularly close ones. Every other quarterback is held to that standard.”
The Athletic: 23 (Previous: 21)
“Hear us out. The Chargers have lost to only one team with a losing record. Three of their four losses came against the Dolphins, Cowboys and Chiefs, and only Sunday’s loss came by more than three points. Justin Herbert is getting a lot of heat lately, but he’s ninth in the league in passer rating (97.1) and sixth in yards per attempt (7.5). We haven’t given up on the Chargers just yet.”
Justin Herbert sounded off after the Chargers’ loss to the Chiefs.
If you were to log in to Twitter and read about the Chargers after Sunday’s 31-17 loss to the Chiefs, your impression would likely be that the sky is falling.
That sentiment seems the same on Facebook, YouTube, or anywhere else you can consume Chargers content.
The one place it is not the same, according to quarterback Justin Herbert, is in the locker room. When asked postgame if LA’s two-game losing streak had been more challenging for Herbert than in previous circumstances, the signal caller answered:
Football’s tough. Whether you’re winning or whether you’re losing, it’s a tough sport and it requires tough people. And we got a tough locker room in there. It hasn’t gone our way the past couple of games, but no one’s going to panic, no one’s going to quit, no one’s going to give up.
Asked about Brandon Staley’s “reset” comments, Herbert elaborated:
I think it means we’ve got a new challenge, a new week of football. You can’t let your last one affect your next one and so we’re gonna watch the film, we’re gonna move on, and we’re gonna learn from it.
Kansas City’s second-half adjustments on defense stifled the Chargers offense, which Herbert acknowledged:
They played some good defense. They had some good things covered up and we did our best to move the ball and unfortunately we didn’t execute as well as we could’ve. There are some plays we’d love to have back, some throws and protections and things like that. I thought our coach put us in a position to play good football today and it’s on me and on our offense to be able to score points.
Herbert talked about playing complementary football and acknowledged that the Chargers have yet to put together a complete performance in which the offense, defense, and special teams all play well for four quarters. He again said it was on the offense to be able to capitalize on the turnovers the defense forced, with a theme of execution in subsequent answers about what went wrong with his unit.
Herbert also clarified that he was sometimes handing the ball off with his right hand because the splint on his fractured left finger ripped off during the game. He later said that while the finger was not affecting his ability to handle the ball, it was something he was consciously protecting on Sunday.
Herbert did not sound like the captain of a surrendered army in his comments to the media, and it’s clear that the roster still believes in their ability to turn the season around. However, it’s also clear that they’re aware of the things holding them back – namely, execution in critical moments and missed opportunities.
This team is not at rock bottom – they’re a few bad bounces away from being 5-1, after all – but they must recognize that they’re trending in that direction before the oxygen runs out. On Sunday, Herbert made it sound like the Chargers knew, but they were still figuring out which way was up before heading for the surface. Time will tell whether their sense of direction is keen enough to take another breath.
Spotlighting Pro Football Focus’ highest and lowest-graded Chargers players from the loss to the Chiefs.
In Week 7, the Chargers fell short to the Chiefs, 31-17.
Outcome aside, there were some standout performers and others that were duds.
With that being said, here are the best and worst performers from Sunday’s contest, according to Pro Football Focus’ player grades.
Note: To be more accurate, this is based on players who played at least 35% of the snaps on offense (63) or defense (68).
WR Joshua Palmer – 87.8
RB Joshua Kelley – 75.6
OT Rashawn Slater – 75.2
OL Jamaree Salyer – 70.9
QB Justin Herbert – 70.6
LB Eric Kendricks – 81.9
EDGE Joey Bosa – 77.1
EDGE Khalil Mack – 71.5
DT Nick Williams – 67.8
S Dean Marlowe – 67.3
TE Donald Parham – 58.4
OT Trey Pipkins – 58.2
TE Stone Smartt – 56.6
C Will Clapp – 54.1
OL Zion Johnson – 45.8
CB Asante Samuel Jr. – 58.3
S Derwin James – 50.9
DT Sebastian Joseph-Day – 46.0
EDGE Tuli Tuipulotu – 45.0
DT Austin Johnson – 42.7
Brandon Staley largely accepted the blame and responsibility for the Chargers’ loss to the Chiefs.
The Chargers lost their second game in six days as they fell to the Chiefs, 31-17. While they held Kansas City to just one score in the second half, the offense faltered down the stretch. Brandon Staley’s defense adjusted a bit too late after getting dominated in the first half.
At his media availability, Staley spoke on the loss. In responding to a question on whether he expected the season to go this way, the Chargers’ head coach answered with this:
It’s frustrating. I can’t tell you why the season started this way, but it just, it is, and it’s no one’s responsibility but mine. We’ve got a good football team, and we just gotta go — we need to reset, this football team, we need to reset.
Staley also talked about defensive preparation and execution:
I didn’t do a good enough job of getting our team prepared to play…I thought in the second half, we made good adjustments and played better. But the damage was done in the first half.
On the offensive side of the ball, Staley mentioned that he felt a lack of rhythm in the second half:
We didn’t get into any rhythm in the second half…drives stalled out. We didn’t operate with any consistency in the second half.
Staley also said that turnovers must be taken advantage of when you play a team like Kansas City. Los Angeles’ offense did not score on either turnover committed by the Chiefs.
Staley’s tone sounded like a coach who knew he had to take licks for his team’s performance today. Generally, it feels like there is some pushback on points from him in media sessions, but he largely accepted the blame and responsibility for the loss.
As for the idea of a “reset,” as Staley mentions, it seems like an inopportune time for something large-scale to be reset with the team mid-season. The truth is that the bye was the time to reset for this team.
To this point, they still look like the same inconsistent team that entered the bye. The Chargers still have not put together a dominant first to fourth-quarter performance.
