Tag: Keenan Allen

9 Chargers players to watch vs. Chiefs in Week 11

Chargers Wire’s Gavino Borquez lays out the nine most important players to watch against the Chiefs in Week 11.

The Los Angeles Chargers (4-6) travel to Mexico City to face the Kansas City Chiefs (6-4) in a crucial Week 11 matchup.

Here are nine Chargers players to hone in on:

QB Philip Rivers

After his worst performance of the 2019 season, Rivers will look to have a bounce back game. But it won’t be an easy task facing one of the best passing defenses in the league.

RB Melvin Gordon

Gordon has been on a tear the past two games, and he will look to continue that dominance going up against one of the league’s worst run defenses.

WR Keenan Allen

Allen has been slowed as of late, failing to surpass 70 receiving yards the past seven contests. He wasn’t impressed by the Chiefs’ secondary this past offseason and now he will have to opportunity to get his words up, six months later.

OT Trent Scott

One of the reasons for Rivers’ struggles last week was the poor protection. Scott, who will start at right tackle again in place of Sam Tevi, will need to slow a Chiefs pass rush that ranks first in the NFL in sacks (52).

DE Joey Bosa & Melvin Ingram

If the Bolts want to slow quarterback Patrick Mahomes, they need to contain him and make him feel uncomfortable. That all starts up front with the pressure. Bosa and Ingram have combined for 13.5 sacks this season.

CB Casey Hayward

Hayward is set to be lined up across arguably the league’s fastest wideouts in Tyreek Hill.

FS Rayshawn Jenkins

With how fast the Chiefs position players are, Jenkins will be needed more than ever to assist from the single high role, whether that be as an open field tackler or eliminating passing plays over the top to avoid explosive plays.

S Jaylen Watkins

Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is the best at his position, and will need to be eliminated. Last season, they limited him because Derwin James did a nice job against him, but he will not be playing.

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Chargers’ Keenan Allen looking to back up words about Chiefs secondary

Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen had some words about the Chiefs’ secondary back in April.

After finishing as one of the worst secondaries in the NFL last season, the Chiefs made the point to address the unit this past offseason with a slew of acquisitions.

Back in April, after the initial wave of free agency and the draft, wide receiver Keenan Allen was asked about the changes Kansas City made.

“Since you asked, it was brought up today in the locker room. We just looked at their DB (defensive backs) group, and I’ll just leave it at that. We’ve seen it,” Allen said.

From Allen’s comment and smirk on his face, he didn’t appear to be that impressed with the group on paper.

Fast forward to now, and the new pieces that the Chiefs added have made a huge difference. Kansas City hasn’t allowed 300 passing yards in a game since Week 1, and they’re allowing 221.4 yards per game, which ranks No. 8 in the NFL.

Their new-look secondary includes safety Tyrann Mathieu, cornerback Bashaud Breeland and rookie Juan Thornhill. Those three players, along with the change to the defensive coordinator, have been a much-needed boost to the defense.

Quarterback Philip Rivers threw for over 300 yards when the two teams met twice last season, including the big victory at Arrowhead Stadium, which snapped their losing streak to the Chiefs.

Even though Rivers enters Monday’s contest against Kansas City with a league-high 2,816 passing yards, it won’t be an easy task for the veteran quarterback to have that success facing a revamped secondary and a depleted offensive line.

Allen will look to back up what he had to say about Kansas City’s secondary, and get back on track after being held to less than 70 receiving yards the past seven games and find the end zone for the first time since Week 3.

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Chargers players not fond of practicing in Colorado

Some of the Chargers players aren’t happy with practicing in Colorado for a few days prior to the matchup against the Chiefs.

The Chargers’ home for the next few days will be at Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO in preparation for Monday night’s game against the Chiefs in Mexico City.

Coach Anthony Lynn moved the team from California to Colorado because he wants to get the players acclimated to the altitude they will be playing in Mexico City, which is about 7,300 feet above sea level.

Lynn has his purpose for having the Bolts practice in Colorado for a few days, saying that even though science suggests it could take seven or eight days to acclimate to it, as a former player it pays dividends.

But some of the players aren’t too thrilled with it.

Running back Austin Ekeler, grew up in Colorado, doesn’t mind practicing there because he’s used to it, but he elaborated that it’s a different story for his teammates, saying that some of them would’ve rather practiced in Costa Mesa, CO.

“I think there’s a lot of mixed feelings about us coming here. Me personally, I kinda like the change-up. I’m probably a little biased, obviously, because I’m from here. I was looking forward to being back in Colorado for a week, but I know some people disagree with that. They would rather have it at our own facility, back in our regular routine,” Ekeler said.

Wide receiver Keenan Allen went to his personal Twitter account to express some frustration. It’s all not certain what it’s about, but based on the day, it seems like he’s talking about being in Colorado.

“I hate everything about this,” Allen tweeted on Tuesday.

Defensive end Joey Bosa made it seem like he didn’t care the team was in Colorado, but would’ve rather stayed home in California and practice if he had the choice.

“You notice a difference out there a little bit with breathing. I don’t know if a few practices is enough to get acclimated to it. But, we’re here. We’ll make the most of it.”

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2020 Pro Bowl voting now open

It’s time to cast your vote to send your favorite Charger to the 2020 Pro Bowl.

Voting for the 2020 NFL Pro Bowl is officially open.

Fans can vote on NFL.com/ProBowlVote from Tuesday, Nov. 12 until Sunday Dec. 12. The rosters for the AFC and NFC will be announced on Tuesday, Dec. 17 on NFL Network.

During the final two weeks of 2020 Pro Bowl voting — November 28-December 12 — fans will also be able to vote on Twitter. To cast a vote, fans should tweet the first and last name of the player, the player’s official Twitter handle, or a hashtag including the player’s first and last name. It must include the hashtag: #ProBowlVote.

Fans, players and coaches will each account for one-third toward determining the 88 All-Star players who will be selected to the Pro Bowl

Even though it hasn’t been the sunshine and rainbows for the Chargers, the team still has several players worthy of Pro Bowl consideration this season.

Running back Austin Ekeler has been a force as a ball carrier and as a pass-catcher. Ekeler has totaled 899 yards from scrimmage and nine touchdowns. Wide receiver Keenan Allen has cooled down a little bit the past few weeks, but he has still amassed 62 receptions for 725 yards and three touchdowns.

On the other side of the ball, cornerback Casey Hayward continues to shut down some of the league’s best receivers on a weekly basis. In the trenches, defensive ends Melvin Ingram and Joey Bosa remain as one of the top pass-rushing tandems, combining for 13 sacks.

Fullback Derek Watt and linebacker Drue Tranquill have done their fair share of work on special teams. Watt leads the league in special teams tackles with 12, while Tranquill is third with nine.

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