Who will win the electrifying duel Mahomes vs. Herbert?
Thursday night will be a quarterback night in the NFL on Game Day 2. At least both Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert have already shown in the previous week that the MVP vote this season only goes through them. Both led their team to strong opening wins in the process.
Mahomes scored five touchdowns with no interceptions, Herbert three, also without an interception. At 144.1 and 129.4, both had absolute world-class QB ratings to their credit and it will be exciting to see which of the two can gold plate their season opener on Thursday.
The favourites are easily the Kansas City Chiefs, as their performance away from home in Arizona was even more impressive. Mahomes, Kelce and Co. never gave the impression that they could lose the game.
Especially at home in Kansas City, our prediction for Chiefs vs. Chargers is a home win, where it could also rain points again. Both Kansas City and LA represent offenses that can crack the 30 point mark on a good day.
Kickoff in the Thursday Night Game of NFL Week 2 is Friday night at 02:20 in Kansas City. The game can be watched live on DAZN.
Kansas City Chiefs – Statistics & current form
The Chiefs were somewhat downgraded by many experts before the season. Sure, they lost two extremely important players in Tyreek Hill and Tyrann Mathieu, but already Tom Brady and the Pats have shown for years that this should not be a reason to doubt a team.
So they jumped right back into second place among the favourites for the Super Bowl after game day one – and quite rightly so. The way Mahomes was able to immediately integrate his new players Juju Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdez-Scantling and also rookie Skyy Moore was impressive.
The running game also fits
But a weighty reason for this offensive superiority by Kansas City was their running game. They were very strong here with a total of 128 yards and could rely on three running backs (Pacheco, Edwards-Helaire, McKinnon) who all put up over 5.0 yards per carry. A strong number.
Compared to last year, they have become even more unpredictable. The five different touchdown scorers in week one prove this new variability. Among other things, this is a big advantage in the duel with the Chargers on Thursday.
The defence appears solid
While the Chiefs started the season with a disastrous defence last year, this year’s start was much better. Especially through the air they delivered a very strong performance with only 205 conceded yards. Defensively, they don’t have to hide from LA either.
This solid defence is also the reason why we clearly favour a bet on Kansas City in the Chiefs against the Chargers. Combined with the terrific offence, there is little that makes us doubt another show of power from Mahomes and Co.
Key Players:
QB: Patrick Mahomes
RB: Clyde Edwards-Helaire
WR: Juju Smith-Schuster
TE: Travis Kelce
K: Harrison Butker
Los Angeles Chargers – stats & current form
The Chargers started the season with a hard-fought home win, but it hung by a thread in the fourth quarter. The fact that they had to dither at the end despite three interceptions and a total of six sacks scored was unusual.
Until two minutes before the end, the Raiders still had the chance to win with a single drive, but then the Chargers defence held and sealed the opening victory. It’s going to have to come down to that defence against the Chiefs as well.
How good is the Chargers defence?
For years, the LA Chargers’ defence was considered one of the best, but it was also the one that broke the team’s back last year. With 27.0 points allowed, they ranked third to last among all teams in the preseason. Only the pitiful Jets and Lions were worse.
The loss of Melvin Ingram was particularly noticeable in the previous year. In this respect, a clear improvement is needed, which was already achieved against the Raiders. Three interceptions and six sacks were an excellent start to the season for the Chargers defence.
Low or high scoring game?
One of the most intriguing questions for Thursday is whether both offenses will get their power on the field. Because then it can quickly become a game in which well over 60 total points are scored. We expect well over 50 in any case.
So for Kansas City vs. Los Angeles the odds on over-points are an interesting betting option. Since we expect the Chiefs to win in the end, a combination of Chiefs + Over Points is also an alternative that can offer us great value.
Key Players:
QB: Justin Hebert
RB: Austin Ekeler
WR: Keenan Allen
TE: Gerald Everett
K: Dustin Hopkins
Kansas City Chiefs – Los Angeles Chargers Head-to-head comparison / H2H record
The Chargers actually won the last two games in Kansas City. Otherwise, however, their record against Pat Mohomes and his colleagues reads terrible. Of the last 16 games (since 2014), a staggering 13 went to the Chiefs.
In addition, it is striking that high-scoring games regularly occur between these two teams. The last three duels alone saw an average of 58.3 total points, making Chiefs vs Chargers odds of Over 54.5 points a real option.
As the Chiefs, and Mahomes too, will still have painful memories of their last two home games against the Chargers, they should also be highly motivated going into the game. Three home losses in a row against the same team have never happened to Mahomes in his entire career.
Kansas City Chiefs – Los Angeles Chargers Tip
It’s definitely a top game on Thursday, largely due to the two offenses. We are also building on this in our bets, where tips on over-points are just as playable as any bets on the Kansas City Chiefs.
We even increase the value a bit by recommending a bet on Kansas City + Over 54.5 points for Chiefs vs. Chargers. Especially if one team should take a quick lead, it could rain points in both directions.
Bets on a Clyde Edwards-Helaire touchdown are also worth considering. The scored two touchdowns in week one and it is noticeable that he is one of the Chiefs’ main weapons both in the running game and through the air. Additionally, in Kansas City Chiefs vs. Los Angeles Chargers, the betting odds on it are attractive.
