Los Angeles Chargers: Three reasons why LA will defeat the Chiefs
By Jason Reed
2. The special teams unit has improved
No matter how much the special teams unit has improved there is still the chance that the Chargers will get burned in that area of the game, especially with Tyreek Hill back returning punts for the Chiefs.
However, the Chargers special teams unit is in a much better place now than it was at the beginning of the season and the same mistakes that haunted the Chargers in the first matchup shouldn’t come up this go around.
The Chargers lost the first matchup by a 10-point margin, 38-28, but played the Chiefs much closer than the score indicated. With it being the first game of the season, it seemed as if the Chargers were back to their old ways of losing games in unorthodox fashion.
The tone setter for the entire game was a 91-yard punt return for a touchdown from Tyreek Hil, that gave the Chiefs the momentum and gave Patrick Mahomes an early lead to work with in his second career start.
The Chargers also muffed a punt later in the game that led to a Chiefs touchdown. While the game would have been different without those results, 14 of the Chiefs’ 38 points were a result of bad special teams from the Chargers.
Desmond King and Travis Benjamin do their part as returners and King even had a huge touchdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers that shifted the entire game and ultimately led to a Chargers win.
The Chargers still do rank fairly high in return yards allowed and punt return yards allowed, however, the team does not punt a ton (24 all season) and the kickoff return yards are skewed by Mike Badgley‘s struggles with getting touchbacks. At the end of the day, the Chargers are much better in this department.