Kansas City Chiefs vs. San Diego Chargers: Preview, Key Matchup and Prediction

The Kansas City Chiefs and San Diego Chargers both head into their Week 13 showdown this weekend with much to gain and much to lose.

Kansas City is riding a three-game winning streak into town and is currently on top of the AFC West by two games.

Meanwhile, the Chargers come into the game with a record of 6-6. They have won four out of their last five games and need to win in order to keep pace with the Raiders and make up ground on the first-place Chiefs.

The Chiefs haven't won in San Diego since they upset the Chargers during the '07 season and they looked lost in a 43-14 beatdown last season.

San Diego is hoping for much of the same this Sunday when KC comes to play, as they hope to take advantage of a Chiefs team that has struggled on the road this year with an overall record of 2-4 away from Arrowhead Stadium.

The Chiefs will bring in the best rushing attack in the league, lead by Jamaal Charles who has rushed for a team-high 1,137 yards and is averaging a whopping 6.2 yards per carry this season.

They also have QB Matt Cassel, who boasts the fifth best QB rating rating in the NFL and has done a great job playing mistake-free football from his position as he only has four interceptions for the year.

Cassel should look to receiver Dwayne Bowe and rookie tight end Tony Moeaki when he isn't handing the ball off to the team's group of talented running backs.

San Diego will look to shut down the Chiefs offense with statistically one of the best defenses in the league.

They only give up an NFL-best 186 passing yards per game and they only allow about 95 rushing yards per game, which is good enough for fifth in the entire league.

QB Phillip Rivers leads a very formidable San Diego offense that ranks near the top of the league in nearly every category.

Rivers also torched the Chiefs for 298 yards earlier this season when the two met in Kansas City.

Third-year back Mike Tolbert should get a bulk of the carries as rookie Ryan Matthews is still making his way back from injury.

Pro Bowl tight end Antonio Gates is having another solid season with 782 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. He and 6'5" wideout Malcolm Floyd have been Rivers' go-to guys this season and he should look to them again this Sunday against the Chiefs.

Kansas City will counter with a bend but don't break defense that played well against the Chargers the first time around in September.

Fifth-year linebacker Tamba Hali leads the Chiefs D with 10 sacks and four forced fumbles for the season. Their past defense has been steadily improving week to week but will face a tough test in Rivers and the Chargers offense this weekend.

As far as Special Teams go, the Chargers have one of the worst units in the league, while the Chiefs have been around average, other than the heroics of rookie Dexter McCluster in Week 1 against the Chargers.

Key Matchup: Phillip Rivers vs. KC Secondary

If Rivers can get to the Chiefs young secondary, it could be a long day for Kansas City. However, if they can find a way to neutralize him, like they did with Broncos QB Kyle Orton last weekend, they have a good chance to win this tough road game.

Prediction: Chiefs-24  Chargers-21

Kansas City will get just enough offense to win this game and they will be one step closer to winning their first AFC West title since the 2003 season.