The Los Angeles Chargers will start the season against the defending AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs at home – kind of. While it will count as a home game, the game will take place in São Paulo, Brazil. The NFL hosting games overseas is nothing new, with this matchup serving as the second regular-season game to take place in South America.
However, the NFL usually rewards teams with a home game or bye week following a game in a different country. Unfortunately for Justin Herbert and the Chargers, though, that won’t be the case this time. As a result of a scheduling conflict involving a Chris Brown concert at SoFi Stadium, the Chargers will head to Las Vegas to face the Raiders on Monday Night Football in Week 2.
Concert Left Chargers with Few Options for Week 2 Matchup
While discussing scheduling issues with Rich Eisen, Mike North, the NFL’s vice president of broadcast planning and scheduling, mentioned how Chris Brown’s tour threw a wrench into their plans for the Chargers’ early-season schedule.
According to North, Chris Brown booked SoFi Stadium “months ago,” before the NFL had booked the Chargers’ trip to Brazil.
“We always try to give everybody at least a home game, if not, a bye coming back from an international trip,” North said. “There’s no byes in Week 2, so hey Chargers, happy to bring you back to a home game after Brazil like we did last year for the Eagles and the Packers, but your building’s blocked. Chris Brown’s using it. We’ll try to find you somewhere to go in Week 2, but it ain’t gonna be SoFi!”
North mentioned that they didn’t want to send the Chargers to face the Giants or any of the other east coast teams on their schedule, but it turned out to be quite a busy weekend in Vegas. They are hosting a boxing match and a UNLV game on Saturday, so their building is blocked off for the weekend, resulting in North making a special plea.
“I called the Raiders and I asked them, ‘Hey, not so much for your division-rival Chargers, but more for the league, would you be able to play on Monday that week?’ And they agreed to move stuff around, so they’re going to host Monday night, so the Chargers do come back from Brazil to a road game, but at least it’s to Vegas and it’s on a Monday night, so they do get a little extra rest. It’s gonna be a very busy weekend in Vegas with a fight and a college game and a Chargers-Raiders game on Monday, so we appreciate everybody accommodating our requests.”
Could a Neutral Site Be the Key to Chargers Snapping 11-Game Home Losing Streak against Chiefs?
While it’s not totally fair to compare any team to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, a division rival has to win every once in a while for it to be a rivalry, right? Mahomes is 10-2 against the Chargers in his career, riding a personal 6-game winning streak in the series.
ESPN‘s Kris Rihm notes that, even though Los Angeles is just 3-19 against the Chiefs since 2014, and has lost seven straight in the series, “One caveat for the Chargers is that they play the Chiefs close.”
“Since drafting Herbert in 2020, seven of their nine games against the Chiefs have been decided by one score, but the Chargers are 1-6 in those seven games,” writes Rihm. He noted that a “change of scenery” may be the difference for the Chargers this year.
Though, as Thuc Nhi Nguyen of the Los Angeles Times points out, “Kansas City’s road dominance spans three cities and four stadiums with wins in San Diego, StubHub Center, Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca and SoFi Stadium since the Chargers’ last home win in the series in 2013.”
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