The Kansas City Chiefs are in Sao Paulo, Brazil, for their season-opener against the Los Angeles Chargers, and they will be looking for some revenge when they take the field on Friday night. The last time we saw the Chiefs on the field, they suffered an embarrassing 40-22 defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX.
Kansas City has been hard at work over the offseason upgrading its roster in an effort to aid its return to the top of the league. We won’t see their full complement of offensive playmakers right out of the gate, though, which could lead to running back Isiah Pacheco and wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster taking on bigger roles against the Chargers in Week 1.
Isiah Pacheco, JuJu Smith-Schuster Set for Bigger Roles with Chiefs
One of Kansas City’s biggest issues last season was the fact that its offense was never fully healthy. Wide receivers Rashee Rice and Marquise Brown both missed long stretches of the season, and Pacheco also battled a slew of injuries throughout the year, while clearly playing at less than 100% when he returned to the field later in the season.
Entering Week 1 at least, the Chiefs are in a better position. While Rice is suspended for the first six games of the season, Brown and Pacheco are both healthy heading into Week 1. Veterans Travis Kelce and Kareem Hunt are also in tow, but the most encouraging development was Xavier Worthy’s breakout performance (eight catches, 157 yards, two touchdowns) in the team’s season-ending loss to the Eagles.
There are questions about how things will shake out to begin the season, especially with Rice being suspended and Pacheco and Hunt largely splitting snaps out of the backfield late last year. According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, he’s expecting Pacheco and Smith-Schuster to both take on large roles for Kansas City as they open their season against Los Angeles.
Don’t be surprised if familiar faces Isiah Pacheco and JuJu Smith-Schuster are factors in Brazil,” Fowler wrote. “Pacheco looks healthy and is running hard. And with Rashee Rice suspended for six games, the Chiefs trust Smith-Schuster in their three-receiver sets. Not sure how many targets he’ll get, but he’ll be a factor.”
Chiefs Looking to Get Off on the Right Foot Against Chargers
GettyIt’s possible Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes will easily break two records in the team’s opening game.
After getting blown out by the Eagles in the Super Bowl, it’s going to be important for the Chiefs to get off to a hot start in 2025. For the first time in recent memory, there are some doubts about their ability to win, and if they struggle out of the gate, things could quickly snowball and present some problems for the team moving forward.
Even if those fears are admittedly very minor for the time being, Kansas City finds itself in a position it hasn’t been in all that frequently over the past couple of years. They aren’t the favorite to win the Super Bowl this year, so it will be up to the players to change that narrative. That starts on Friday night, when they take the field against one of their top division rivals in the Chargers.
Insider Predicts Chiefs Will Lean on 2 Veteran Playmakers Against Chargers in Brazil