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Kansas City Chiefs (9-5) at LA Chargers (8-5)
Right now, you would be hard pressed to find a better candidate for hottest team in the league than the Kansas City Chiefs. That in and of itself probably should not be too surprising, since KC has been one of the best teams now for a number of seasons, and went to the Super Bowl in each of the past two seasons. However, their route to this place has been unusual, since they played quite a long time this season with little evidence of that elite level of play from the recent past.
The Chargers, meanwhile, have taken a number of teams by surprise. Not many people expected them to be in the position that they find themselves in now, with a huge showdown that could determine who wins the AFC West division. They have a hot young quarterback in Justin Herbert who is defying critics week after week. Their offense has looked solid. Yet, this team also seems to be unpredictable. They play extremely well, like one of the NFL's true elite teams one weekend, then seem to fall flat the next weekend. It is difficult to predict which Chargers team will show up.
That is where Kansas City should benefit from their extensive advantage in terms of experience. They have won the AFC West every season since 2016, and they have reached the playoffs in all but one season since 2013. In short, they know how to win these kinds of games. They have been there, and that should help them to maintain their composure.
One aspect of the championship character for this team is in how they are winning. Their offense has some of the best talent of any offense in the league. Yet, they looked flat for much of this season, and still have some question marks. But the defense, which looked suspect for a number of seasons now, have stepped up in a big way and helped the Chiefs to pull off this six game winning streak that has put them in position to possibly win the division and even contend for the top seed in the AFC. They have not allowed any teams to score more than 17 points in the last six games, which is a huge part of the reason why they have won those games, allowing a total of 48 points in their last five games in particular. There were games in recent seasons when the KC defense allowed that many points in a single game, particularly that big Monday Night showdown against the Rams a few seasons back. So kudos to a great effort by their defense.
The Chargers do have home field advantage, and that might help. However, they have hardly been dominant at home, and this should not dissuade the Chiefs. In what should be an entertaining and tight game, I like Kansas City to win it in the end, again largely benefitting from their superior experience and that tremendous play of late by their defense, which should carry them through this huge game, paving the path for another division title.
My pick: Kansas City
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