Chiefs vs. Chargers, Week 11 preview | KCSN Daily 11.18
Plus players to watch, final injury report, KCSN podcasts and more Chiefs news.
Welcome back to the newest issue of KCSN Daily, where we deliver the best Kansas City Chiefs content.
The Chiefs will face the Los Angeles Chargers on “Sunday Night Football” in Inglewood, California at SoFi Stadium in Week 11. This game was flexed to Sunday night after originally being scheduled for the afternoon. Kickoff is now set for Sunday at 7:20 p.m. CT on Nov. 20. The game will be televised on the majority of NBC stations around the country with Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth and Melissa Stark on the call.
Four of the next five games for the Chiefs are on the road, but they’ll be back at Arrowhead Stadium next week to host the Los Angeles Rams. Tickets for that game are available below:
KC Laboratory - Chiefs vs. Chargers preview:
KCSN’s Kent Swanson, Craig Stout, and Matt Lane break down the Kansas City Chiefs placing WR Mecole Hardman on the injured reserve and preview this week's matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Final Injury Report:
Chiefs:
DNP: WR JuJu Smith-Schuster (Concussion).
LP: CB Chris Lammons (Concussion), CB L’Jarius Sneed (Knee), and RB Jerick McKinnon (Shoulder/Hamstring).
FP: WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling (Illness), RT Andrew Wylie (Elbow), and RB Isiah Pacheco (Quad).
Designations: CB Chris Lammons (Out) and WR JuJu Smith-Schuster (Out).
Chargers:
DNP: None.
LP: K Dustin Hopkins (Hamstring).
FP: P JK Scott (Illness), OLB Khalil Mack (NIR-Rest), WR Deandre Carter (Ribs), TE Gerald Everett (Groin), OT Trey Pipkins (Knee), OLB Chris Rumph II (Knee), WR Keenan Allen (Hamstring), and Mike Williams (Ankle).
Designations: K Dustin Hopkins (Doubtful), WR Keenan Allen (Questionable), and WR Mike Williams (Questionable).
Key:
DNP (Did Not Participate), LP (Limited Participant), FP (Full Participant), NIR (Not Injury Related).
Notes:
The Chiefs are not required to list the practice status of OT Lucas Niang until he’s been activated to the 53-man roster.
KCSN Update:
KCSN’s BJ Kissel sits down with Pro Football Focus' Trevor Sikkema to get his three key matchups before the Kansas City Chiefs' Sunday Night Football showdown with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Players to watch in Week 11:
WR Kadarius Toney: With Mecole Hardman heading to injured reserve, Kadarius Toney’s expected to see his role increase sharply. Last week, Toney was already seeing some of the jet sweeps, end-around, and motion plays that Hardman usually gets. He’ll continue to get worked in on those types of plays, including the red zone package that has been so effective for Hardman this season.
RB Isiah Pacheco: A starter for the last three consecutive weeks, Pacheco finally saw a breakout in Week 10. He recorded a career-high in carries (16) and rushing yards (82). In their last three games, the Chargers have allowed an average of 190 rushing yards per game to opponents, which is good for the second most in the NFL in that span. It seems like Pacheco could be due for another big day on the ground.
CB Trent McDuffie: While McDuffie’s numbers in coverage have come back down to earth a bit, he’s still proven to be a shutdown cornerback as a rookie thus far. Should Keenan Allen and Mike Williams play in Week 11, this could be his first big test against some of the NFL’s elite receivers. Justin Herbert will also be the best quarterback that he’s faced so far. Will his strong play continue or will he see some struggles?
DE Frank Clark: It’s the first game back from Clark’s two-game suspension. In his last game, Clark recorded a season-high 1.5 sacks against the 49ers. This time he’ll be facing an offensive line that has allowed the fewest sacks in the NFL on their quarterback. Will Clark be able to provide a spark for the pass rush in Kansas City or will he look rusty in his return?
Quotable:
“I think one of things we said way back when, when I talked in the preseason, for us to have the year we want to have and get to the ultimate goal – Chris (Jones) would have to have a career year. What does that entail? It means not just getting after the quarterback but playing the run, doing the little things, playing with pad level (and) being physical. Some of the plays in last week’s game the first – there was a third-and-two where the quarterback liked to keep the ball and Chris kind of read the play and knocked the guard back and it was kind of ‘hidden production,’ as (Defensive Coordinator) Coach (Steve Spagnuolo) Spags says. And he forced the ball back to Willie (Gay) and George Karlaftis and they made the play, and we were off the field. Things like that he’s doing a great job of. He’s always been able to rush the passer, but he’s impacting the game in different ways.” - Chiefs DL coach Joe Cullen on Chris Jones’ year so far
“Yeah, and it’s as much as the run part of it as it is his throwing, right? He’s become, obviously, a ‘favorite’ of – was always a favorite of – the quarterback’s, but when they had a couple of guys down, his tick as far as targets went way up. (He’s) a guy that we’re concerned about. A guy that we’ve talked about. We’ll work third down today and 30’s (Austin Ekeler) going to be first thing I put up on Wednesday, yesterday morning was everybody needs to know who 30 is. Linemen included. That’s how much we respect him and how good he is.” - Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo on Chargers RB Austin Ekeler
Quick hits:
From NFLPA: Chiefs LT Orlando Brown Jr. earned NFLPA Community MVP honors in Week 11 for his support of Type 1 Diabetes research at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City.
From the Associated Press: ESPN’s Field Yates shared that the Associated Press is making a change to how they do MVP voting. With Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes being listed as a favorite for the MVP award, this is notable.
From the KC Equipment Farm: The Chiefs are dusting off their white-on-white uniform combination for Week 11 against the Chargers. In the three games that they’ve worn this combination during the Patrick Mahomes era, the offense has scored no fewer than 34 points.
From Big Red: Chiefs HC Andy Reid strayed from football during his Friday press conference to announce a concert coming to Arrowhead Stadium next August.
Important dates ahead:
Sunday, Nov. 20 at 7:20 p.m. CT - Week 11: Chiefs vs. Chargers - SoFi Stadium - Inglewood, CA
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About 2 missing receivers... 9 - 2 is still 7 * Pat is WIN