In their second matchup of the season, the 6-7 Kansas City Chiefs will face the 9-4 Los Angeles Chargers in a last-gasp effort to keep their playoff hopes afloat. Kansas City suffered a brutal loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday Night Football, which was a huge blow to their postseason chances. One day later, Los Angeles downed the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football in an overtime win.

It felt like everything was working against the Chargers on Monday. They turned the ball over three times, committed seven penalties, and were held to 275 total yards of offense. Despite all of those factors, LA still managed to come away with a 22-19 win.

"What a team we have. That's my reaction. What a team we have," said Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh after the game. “This is - I don't know - maybe the best feeling… I put [this game] in the discussion [with] the birth of my seven children, my marriage. [It’s] in the conversation.”

LA had arguably its best game of the season from a defensive standpoint. That unit forced five turnovers, including the game-winning interception in overtime.

“Every single guy on the defense got a game ball, plus Jesse Minter [and] the coaches,” Harbaugh said. “I mean, Jesse is a phenomenal coach. Been around some defensive masterpieces. He coordinated that, called that, prepared us for this, put the guys in position. And the guys in position, the way we were breaking on the ball in the secondary, that really stands out… They had been well prepared, and it was great.”

Another star was quarterback Justin Herbert, who played despite having surgery performed on his hand just a week earlier. Though he had precautionary X-rays done on his hand after the game, the results were positive.

“It was pretty sore yesterday,” Herbert told reporters on December 10th. “But I got images done, X-rays, and everything was clean for the most part. It's just getting the swelling down and continuing to get full strength in it and continuing to do as much treatment as I can.”

Even though LA won, they didn't do their quarterback any favors, giving up seven sacks against the Eagles. Jim Harbaugh agreed that it's "alarming" the offensive line allowed Justin Herbert to take that many hits.

“We want to keep him clean,” Harbaugh said. “We don't want him hit the entire game. We want that jersey and uniform. We want to keep him clean... [It] wasn't perfect. Want to be better. I don't know how much more clear I can be about that."

While the Chiefs have a losing record, Jim Harbaugh knows KC has a lot to play for. Like so many other teams, the Chiefs are still in the hunt for a playoff spot and will be trying to keep their postseason hopes alive.

“It’s [the] biggest game of the season because it's the next game. It's that time of the season where everybody's competing,” he said. “Everybody's fighting for their playoff lives, fighting for their football lives, and that's what it's going to be. It's going to be great and glorious. [A] competitive environment.”

The Chiefs find themselves in murky waters. They're 1-4 in their last five games and currently have just an 11% chance to make the playoffs following that 20-10 Week 14 loss to the Texans.

“You need to win games, is what you have to do. So, focus straight ahead on that,” explained Kansas City head coach Andy Reid on Wednesday. “I've been here before, and you bear down, and you go. Try to keep all that stuff [outside]. Brett Veach, he can deal with all that. He likes all that.”

After falling to Houston at home, the Chiefs are not dwelling on the past. They're looking ahead to this matchup with the Chargers.

“They want to get to work. That's kind of how they're wired, and so I think they're eager to get back on the field and get going,” Reid said. ”They know where we stand right now. They know what's taking place. Very aware, but they also like to work. So, we'll get back to it.”

Patrick Mahomes reiterated what Andy Reid described. Mahomes and the rest of the team know what's on the line this weekend.

“We understand we’ve got to win. I think that's obvious,” Mahomes said on December 10th. “I mean, just like, you’ve got to win the football game. So, whatever it takes. We say that every week, but obviously, you have that back against the wall type of spot where you're playing a team that you're chasing that has a big lead in front of you. So you’ve got to find a way to win. And so you’ve got to have that mindset when you step on the football field.”

Though fans usually associate the Chargers with offensive success, they have one of the league's best defenses. They rank tenth in points allowed per game (20.8) and fourth in total yards per game given up (282.2).

“They're well-coached,” Andy Reid said. "Defensively, they're one of the top defenses. I know I say this every week, but we've been playing some good defenses. They're one of the top defenses in a few of those categories there, man, that are important. And so, it's a nice challenge.”

“They do a good job of the defensive line, kind of, playing as a unit, getting to the quarterback,” Mahomes added. “The linebackers fly around with speed, and, obviously, Derwin (James Jr.) can play kind of the secondary or kind of in the box as well. And so, they’ve done a great job of kind of playing complementary football together as a defense. And then they have a great defensive coordinator. So it's a heck of a challenge for us, and we're excited for it.”

Prediction for Los Angeles Chargers @ Kansas City Chiefs (-5.5)

The Chargers probably should have lost that game against Philadelphia. They made a ton of mistakes, but the Eagles just ended up making more. They can't expect the Chiefs to have the same number of turnovers as Philly since they're tied for the sixth-fewest giveaways in the NFL this season. Los Angeles is also one of the worst pass-protection teams in the league due to the injuries to both of their starting tackles. The Chargers are tied for the third-most sacks allowed this season. Though KC has struggled to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks, they should be able to take advantage of LA's hobbled offensive line. With a projected forecast of 17 degrees Fahrenheit, we should expect this to be a low-scoring game. The Chargers will cover the spread, but this desperate Chiefs team will still end up winning the game.

Prediction: Chiefs 19 - 16 Chargers

How to watch Los Angeles Chargers @ Kansas City Chiefs (-5.5)

Chargers @ Chiefs starts at 1:00 p.m. EDT at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. You can watch it on CBS or stream it on the Paramount+ app or YouTubeTV.

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