San Diego Chargers vs. Kansas City Chiefs: Breaking Down San Diego's Game Plan
The San Diego Chargers’ Week 17 matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs is essentially a playoff game: Win, and they’re back to the postseason; lose, and the season is over.
With the stakes so high, the Chargers must effectively utilize their hurry-up offense and have the evolving Manti Te’o keep tabs on Kansas City’s backfield in order to come out on top.
This article will address the keys to the game on both offense and defense for the Chargers and how they can execute them properly. But first, let’s briefly look at both teams and their statuses heading into the last week of the regular season.
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The Chargers are coming off a season-saving win versus the San Francisco 49ers in overtime. San Francisco gashed and bullied the Chargers’ rush defense, but Philip Rivers stepped his game up in the second half to lead the team to victory. If they are expecting to make a playoff run, Rivers will have to weather through his various injuries, and the defense must play better.
The Chiefs have looked underwhelming as of late. Their tepid offense doesn’t push the ball down the field—Alex Smith is a part of that problem, but Kansas City’s offensive line has quietly been one of the worst in football. Smith simply doesn’t have time, which is why Jamaal Charles has to shoulder such a large load. However, two words will strike fear into the heart of any Chargers fan: Justin Houston.
Let’s begin with the San Diego offense. Can it recreate its second-half magic from Week 16?
Offensive key to the game: Minimize Justin Houston with the hurry-up
The Chargers’ comeback versus San Francisco came via offensive coordinator Frank Reich embracing the hurry-up offense. The excellent pitch-and-catch mastery of Rivers and his receivers, minus the injured Keenan Allen, consistently moved the ball against a solid pass defense.
San Diego has a reputation of slowing things down to grind out the opponent, but in the brief moments when it consistently uses the hurry-up, great things happen. SB Nation’s Jeff Siniard agrees, saying the Chargers offense “gets into a good rhythm, plays with more energy and is able to repeatedly exploit mismatches in the defense” when it speeds things up.
The team should keep a good thing going. The hurry-up is a pain for defenders to keep up with, especially if their own offense falters for a drive or two. The pass rush is often the first thing to go. That’s nice for the Chargers, who have the task of blocking 2014 Pro Bowlers in Houston, Tamba Hali and Dontari Poe.
The Chargers proved last week that the hurry-up can help stymie a strong pass rush. They protected Rivers with smart play-calling that catered to his strengths. With the hurry-up consistently utilized, he was sacked a mere two times in 54 pass attempts. And this was with starting linemen Chris Watt and Johnnie Troutman leaving due to injury.
Quick and efficient passing plays helped as well in that win, which may be even more effective against the Kansas City defense. The Chiefs rank 20th in Football Outsiders’ DVOA metric versus No. 1 receivers and 26th versus short passes. Contrast that with their defense against the deep ball—the Chiefs have given up 37 passing plays of 20-plus yards, second fewest in the league, per ESPN’s Eric D. Williams.
Usually, the Chargers love to hit No. 1 receiver Keenan Allen on quick underneath routes, but he and Ryan Mathews may not suit up in Week 17. Even if they do, they won’t be at 100 percent.
Eddie Royal will likely fill Allen’s role as Rivers’ go-to wide receiver. Royal put together one of his best performances as a Charger last week, catching 10 of 12 targets for 94 yards and a touchdown. He’s impressive in the short and intermediate areas of the field due to his shiftiness—the areas Kansas City struggles to defend. Let’s take a look at one of his best plays this season.
If Reich implements these types of Rivers-to-Royal plays in the hurry-up, Houston and Hali won’t have enough time—or energy—to disrupt the play.
The Chargers should be in good shape if they maximize Royal while minimizing the Chiefs’ strengths on defense. What may be more worrisome is the play of the defense, which is coming off a concerning Week 16 performance.
Defensive key to the game: Funnel Jamaal Charles to Manti Te’o
The Chargers defense somehow gave up 355 rushing yards to a buried 49ers offense. It might have been an aberration, given how well the defense has played of late, but stopping the run is certainly something defensive coordinator John Pagano will need to keep tabs on heading into Sunday.
Pagano won’t need to keep tabs on inside linebacker Manti Te’o, who is beginning to evolve into what the Chargers hoped he would be in his second year.
Te’o played well overall last week, finishing with 11 total tackles and a crucial fourth-down sack. His improvement since coming back from a foot injury has been impressive—although he hasn’t been an every-down linebacker, Pagano is beginning to entrust him with more responsibilities.
It’s now time to take the training wheels off Te’o. He should be a featured part of the Chargers defense. He’s the best of the San Diego linebackers in terms of open-field tackling and pass coverage—this is important, as Charles thrives in the open field, and Smith loves to throw in places linebackers roam.
If Te’o and San Diego can limit big plays from Charles—much like the Steelers did in their win over the Chiefs—they have a very good shot at slowing down the Chiefs offense. That’s easier said than done, but Te’o is well-equipped to handle juke masters like Charles. He proved that with his impressive wrap-up of Colin Kaepernick last week.
With Donald Butler out for the season, Te’o will likely get most of the snaps no matter how he plays. That’s a good thing for the Chargers. He has the most room to grow out of all the defenders, and he changes the look of the linebacking unit when he is playing well. It’s time for him to step up in what is essentially a playoff game.
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