Chargers vs. Chiefs: What's the Game Plan for San Diego?

The Chargers head to Kansas City on Sunday in search of their first AFC West victory in 2015. The Chiefs thrashed San Diego 33-3 in Week 11 and will try to go for the sweep.

San Diego (3-9) is coming off a 17-3 loss to the Denver Broncos, while Kansas City (7-5) rattled off a sixth straight win by defeating the Oakland Raiders 34-20 last Sunday. And now for this week's game plan.

Offensive Game Plan

Protect Philip Rivers

Luckily for the Chargers, Kansas City's pass rush will be missing its sacks leader on Sunday, as Justin Houston will miss his second straight game with a knee injury. However, that still leaves Tamba Hali to wrestle with up front. He has one less sack than Houston with 6.5 and is probable to play despite a knee injury of his own. And even without Houston last Sunday, the Chiefs were still effective rushing the passer, with four sacks on Raiders quarterback Derek Carr.

Pass Defense	14th
Rush Defense	8th
Takeaways	T-3rd
Sacks	T-5th
Scoring Defense	T-7th

Hold onto the Ball

This goes for the whole team, but Melvin Gordon has had the most difficulty holding onto the ball, with five fumbles this season, including two last Sunday against the Broncos. Assuming Gordon isn't in Mike McCoy's dog house, he should continue to get carries but needs to be weary of defenders trying to knock the ball out now that he's shown himself to be fumble-prone. Kansas City's defense has forced 10 fumbles and recovered six of them.

More Tight End

Antonio Gates and Ladarius Green were held to one catch each last time out against the Chiefs, but with a banged-up receiving corps, the Chargers should look to get their tight ends more involved on Sunday.

Part of the problem has been the offensive line not giving Rivers enough time to survey the field and get off a good throw. According to Pro Football Focus, Rivers has on average 2.36 seconds to throw. And there's been a couple of times in the past few games where Gates or Green has gotten free from a defender, but Rivers hasn't been able to get them the ball because the pressure gets there so quickly.

Get Danny Woodhead Going Again

Woodhead was a steady contributor in the passing game the first half of the season, as he was even leading the league in yards after catch, but as the Chargers have tried to incorporate more running with Gordon, it has taken away from Woodhead.

He averaged 43.3 receiving yards in the first nine games and only 24 yards in the three games since the bye week. San Diego needs to get him going again, and hopefully he can break off a couple of chunk plays like he did the first half of the season.

Defensive Game Plan

Limit Big Plays

The Chargers tend to give up a lot of big plays on defense. In fact, they've allowed the seventh-most big plays in the NFL at 66, according to Sporting Charts, which categorizes big plays as rushing plays over 10 yards and passing plays over 25 yards. In Week 11 versus the Chiefs, San Diego allowed five such plays to happen, with passes of 25, 27 and 47 yards and runs of 20 and 52 yards.

Pass Offense	26th
Rush Offense	7th
Scoring Offense	5th

Stop the Run

Kansas City's ground game is still rolling despite not having star running back Jamaal Charles, who is out for the year with a torn ACL. The Chiefs are averaging the seventh-most rushing yards at 121.3, and they lead the league in rushing touchdowns with 17.

Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware split the workload at running back, but the Chargers probably remember Ware most from their Week 11 matchup, as he rushed for 96 yards and two touchdowns against them, while West had to leave the game early with a hamstring injury.

Mind Alex Smith's Scrambling

Smith trails only Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks for the most quarterback scrambles this season with 41, and according to Pro Football Focus, he's averaging 7.2 yards when forced to do so. Additionally, he owns 19 of Kansas City's 65 rushing first downs, so he can move the sticks with his legs as well as his arm. San Diego had better not lose sight of Smith when he decides to run.

Beware of Jeremy Maclin

The ex-Philadelphia Eagles receiver has not been consistently productive in the Chiefs' offense, but he's been on a tear in the last two games, totaling 18 receptions, 255 receiving yards and three touchdowns in matchups against the Buffalo Bills and Oakland Raiders. The Chargers held Maclin in check last time out with only three catches for 29 yards, but things may go differently this time around.

Key Matchups and Players to Watch

King Dunlap vs. Tamba Hali 

Dunlap gave up two sacks to Hali the last time they matched up, and San Diego's left tackle had to leave the game early with an ankle injury, which has kept him out of the last two contests. But having practiced this week, Dunlap has been listed as probable for Sunday and will get another crack at Hali, who despite an issue with his knee had six quarterback hurries against Oakland, per PFF.

Antonio Gates vs. Eric Berry 

Credit to Ricky Henne of Chargers.com for pointing this matchup out, as it's sure to be a good one in the secondary. Berry is PFF's fourth-highest-rated safety this season, which is pretty incredible considering he was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma around this time last year and undergoing chemotherapy. Meanwhile, Gates, at 35 years old, is still adding to a Hall of Fame-worthy career. McCoy commented on the matchup with reporters, saying:

"

It’s a great matchup with the two of them. You look at it, and it’s a 50/50 out there with those guys the way they’ve competed. There’s the good and bad of every play. They’re true competitors. Two of the great players in the NFL going at it every time.

So it’s great to see a guy like (Berry) come back and make it to where he is today. He’s his old self again, which is great. Just his attitude and his approach to everything, and what he had to get back to where he is; it’s great to see guys like that back in the game.

"

Vincent Brown 

Brown, a former San Diego third-round pick in 2011, has been out of the NFL for a little over three months since his release from the Indianapolis Colts in September, but the Chargers brought him back this week because of injuries to Dontrelle Inman and Stevie Johnson, who have been ruled out for Sunday's game. How much will he play after one week of practice, and how will he look after a long layoff?

Jeremiah Attaochu 

Attaochu's best game this season was against the Chiefs, as he racked up seven tackles, half a sack and one tackle for loss. He was also San Diego's most active pass-rusher that game with five quarterback hurries, per PFF. Look for him to pick up where he left off and be the disruptive player he was in Week 11.

Prediction

The Chargers have played their worst football against division rivals this season, so it's no wonder the Chiefs are heavy favorites to win on Sunday. To put it into perspective, San Diego has lost to AFC West foes by an average margin of 17.3 points, and the Bolts have been held without a touchdown in two of those games.

Kansas City looks like a playoff team and should continue to play like one against the struggling Chargers.

Predicted Score: Chiefs 26, Chargers 13

All injury information courtesy of Chiefs.com and Chargers.com.