Kansas City Chiefs’ Week 1 game in Brazil just got easier because of the Los Angeles Chargers cursed injury luck
A huge blow for L.A.
You never want to gain a competitive advantage because of injuries, but unfortunately it’s a part of football.
That will be the case for the Chiefs when they take on the Chargers in Week 1. Los Angeles’ starting left tackle Rashawn Slater sustained a patella injury during practice on Thursday, which will cost him the entire 2025 season.
If there’s a silver lining for Slater, it’s that he secured a four-year, $114 million contract extension just weeks ago. Slater’s injury in the same one that Chiefs rookie LT Josh Simmons sustained back in October at Ohio State.
Time will tell how the Chargers plan to replace Slater, but whoever they plug in definitely won’t be the same caliber of player. The five-year veteran is a two-time Pro Bowler and a former Second-Team All-Pro. Slater did not play against Kansas City in Week 4 of last season, and as a result the Chiefs’ defense applied an incredible pressure rate of nearly 42 percent on quarterback Justin Herbert (H/T Adam Pfeifer).
Star defensive tackle Chris Jones led the way in that game, recording two sacks, two tackles for loss, and three QB hits. The Chiefs could line Jones up at defensive end in Week 1’s game to take advantage of the mismatch. However, it would be nice is other pass rushers stepped up as well, such as George Karlaftis, Mike Danna, Charles Omenihu, and rookie Ashton Gillotte.
The Chiefs and Chargers matchup will be the second game played in the regular season, which will take place Friday, September 5th in São Paulo, Brazil. K.C. has swept L.A. each of the last three years, but six of the seven games were decided by one possession. The Chiefs are undefeated in international play, owning a 3-0 record since 2015. The Charges are 1-2 in international play since 2008.
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