Week 8: San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS @ KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
Vegas Line: Chiefs + 3.5

Rob’s Line: Chiefs + 1.5

I love this sport and this league. Unashamedly, I love it. The NFL is built around the Draft and the film name Any Given Sunday wasn’t just plucked out of thin air by some Hollywood producer. No, we need to thank Bert Bell for that, who was NFL commissioner between 1946 and 1959. Bell was often quoted as saying, “On any given Sunday, any team in our league can beat any other team.”

Shouldn’t all leagues be the same way? Yes. The NFL is envied the world over in the way the league run its operations (OK, yes, those of you shouting “LOCKOUT” at me, I give you your due), but many leagues prefer to blithely go on making their own mistakes and wonder where it all went wrong, instead of stringently reviewing matters annualy, something the NFL excels at. Granted, not all of the changes made by the league are universally welcomed (the current rules on defensive players being fined for perceived illegal hits in what is inherently a violent sport is garnering many headlines on a weekly basis), but it’s a league that’s constantly evolving and if other sports refuse to see this, then it doesn’t bother me as I like knowing that my sport is the one being held up as the leader in its field.
So, what significance does any of this have on Monday night’s showdown between San Diego and Kansas City? Very little on the surface, if I’m honest, but if you dig deeper these teams’ seasons so far epitomise the ‘Any Given Sunday’ mantra.
The Chargers are both extremely talented and maddeningly inconsistent. It’s been that way in San Diego in recent seasons, boasting a roster capable of beating anybody at any time. However, they either beat themselves or contrive to lose to teams they have no business losing to; a Super Bowl team who too often play at a Pro Bowl level. Just last week against the Jets, they blew a 14-3 lead and if you’ve seen quarterback Philip Rivers’ fourth down throw that ended their hopes, please tell me whether I missed something as it went to a receiver named thin air who was lined up out of bounds. The one guarantee for Chargers fans is a rollercoaster ride, something Seahawks fans like me only see in my sleep.
To say that Kansas City began the season sluggishly is an understatement. Outscored 89-10 in their first two games, they fell to 0-3 a week later when losing 20-17 in San Diego (where the Chargers were 14 point favourites, incidentally). Added to this was the devastating news that they would also be without running back Jamaal Charles and safety Eric Berry for the rest of the season, due to injury. Andrew Luck looked a certainty to be a Chief come next April until a sudden turnaround happened.
I’m not really sure where to start because Charles and Berry are two of the team’s best players and I can only wonder at how many meetings were had to sort out what seemed to be a sorry mess, but they’ve reorganised the depth chart and got busy living. One interesting fact here is that this week begins a three game stretch at home and the next two visitors to Arrowhead Stadium are Miami and Denver so it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that KC could actually be 6-3 before a trip up to face the Patriots on Monday Night Football in Week 11.
There’s a great story doing the rounds this week in relation to this Chiefs’ renaissance and head coach Todd Haley not shaving. Apparently, he didn’t shave after the aforementioned loss to the Chargers so when they won their first game against Minnesota a week later, he decided to keep the stubble and it’s worked a treat since. He’s vowed only to shave once they lose and his players are loving it. No, they really are and it’s this camaraderie that creates intangibles and players responding to a coach in this way shouldn’t be underestimated.
I’m going to buy into this and like the Chiefs here with the points, particularly if it remains at a field goal plus the half point. KC is on a roll and Arrowhead is one of the toughest places to play in the league. San Diego are the pretty boys of the division and the crowd will be rabid. It’s a Monday night and if the Chiefs win they take the division lead and a shot at going 6-3. I like all of these factors and the points on offer for the home team.