Close Calls Have Been Frequent For Chiefs, Chargers

The fi rst meeting between the Chiefs and Chargers came down to a single point as San Diego prevailed by a 20-19 margin at Qualcomm Stadium (11/9). That contest marked the 11th one-point game in the history of this series. Both clubs have come up short in a number of close games this season. Kansas City is 1-5 in games decided by seven points or less after getting a 20-13 win at Oakland (11/30). The Chargers are 1-7 in such contests with that lone victory coming against the Chiefs. In total, the Chargers eight losses have come by an average of 4.25 ppg. Only Tampa Bay (3.67) has a smaller average margin of defeat.

KC Seeks to Regain Its Arrrowhead Advantage vs. the AFC West
The Chiefs have posted a .500 or better home record vs. AFC West opponents in 26 of the last 27 seasons. KC is 1-1 at Arrowhead against division foes in 2008 and owns a 14-2 record against division foes at Arrowhead in December since ‘90. Four of Kansas City’s last six victories have come against AFC West opponents.

The Chargers have lost nine of their last 11 visits to Arrowhead dating back to ‘97. San Diego is just 1-5 on the road in 2008, including a string of four straight losses, the club’s longest stretch of road losses since dropping seven consecutive games (11/10/02 - 10/5/03). San Diego’s lone road victory this season was a 28-18 decision at Oakland (9/28). The Chargers are 3-7 all-time at Arrowhead in the month of December.

Chiefs-Chargers Scoring Breakdown
Putting plenty of points on the board is always a priority vs. the Chargers. Kansas City is 24-4 (.857) at Arrowhead dating back to 2003 when scoring 30 points or more, including the club’s most recent home victory against the Chargers, a 30-27 decision (10/22/06). Dating back to ‘95, Kansas City is 48-3 (.941) at home when it holds opponents to 17 points or less, including a 4-1 mark under Herm Edwards. San Diego has been held to 14 points or less in three of its six road losses in 2008. Despite their 1-5 road record, the Chargers have only been outscored by 13 total points (145 to 132) in their six road contests, an average margin of just 24.2 to 22.0.

KC is Seeking to Play Two Solid Halves vs. San Diego
Teams leading at the half have won 15 of the last 20 games in the Chiefs-Chargers series dating back to ‘97. Kansas City has either been tied or ahead of San Diego at halftime in the last 11 meetings at Arrowhead, owning a 186-to-60 fi rst-half scoring advantage in those games. San Diego owns a 37-7 (.841) regular season record when leading at halftime dating back to 2004, including wins in 12 of its last 13 such contests. However, the Chargers are just 1-7 when tied or trailing at the half in 2008.

San Diego hasn’t held a halftime lead at Arrowhead since ‘96. However, the Chargers have won two in a row vs. the Chiefs and have outscored Kansas City by a combined 22-point margin (28-6) in the second half of those games. The last time Kansas City outscored the Chargers in the second half was a 30-16 victory at San Diego (9/30/07) when the Chiefs held a 24-0 scoring edge after halftime.

Both the Chiefs and Chargers have struggled in the second quarter this season. Only Detroit (135) has allowed more points in the second quarter than San Diego (131). KC hasn’t fared much better, permitting 114 points in the second period. The Chargers have been outscored by a 35- point margin (131 to 96) in the second quarter, while the Chiefs have been outpointed by a 40-point margin (114 to 74) in that same period.

However, San Diego has outscored its opponents by a 62-point margin (168 to 106) in the second half. Only three teams have a bigger second-half scoring surplus. That’s not good news for the Chiefs who have struggled to score in the third quarter. Only Cincinnati (20) has scored fewer points in that period than Kansas City (23), while no team has been outscored by a bigger margin in that quarter than Kansas City (-69).

QB Tyler Thipgen is Seeking His Initial Arrowhead Victory
Chiefs QB Tyler Thigpen is seeking his fi rst victory as a starter at Arrowhead and will start against an AFC West foe at home for the fi rst time on Sunday. Thigpen registered a 108.4 rating in his initial meeting with the Chargers, completing 27 of 41 passes (65.9%) for 266 yards with three TDs and no INTs. SD has lost eight of its last nine games when allowing an opposing QB to produce a 100.0-rating game. Thigpen owns four games with two or more TD passes. The Chargers are 2-4 when permitting two or more TDs this season. San Diego has allowed 21 TD passes in 2008. Only Arizona (27) and New England (24) have permitted more.

In three career starts vs. AFC West opponents, Kansas City’s secondyear signal caller has thrown four TDs and one INT, registering a 90.2 rating in those contests. Thigpen has been particularly effective in the fi rst quarter of the past seven games, completing 36 of 51 passes (70.6%) for 429 yards with four TDs and no INTs, numbers that translate into a 122.1 rating. Thigpen is on pace to fi nish the season with 17 TDs and 2,370 passing yards, fi gures that would be the highest totals by a Chiefs signal caller since QB Trent Green had 17 TDs and 4,014 yards in 2005.

Chiefs Defense Set to Square Off Against QB Philip Rivers
QB Philip Rivers is seeking to become the fi rst San Diego signal caller to guide the Chargers to back-to-back victories at Arrowhead since QB Dan Fouts did it in ‘80-81. Rivers owns a 10-1 record as a starter vs. the rest of the AFC West, but is just 3-2 vs. Kansas City. Rivers owns a combined 17 TDs, seven INTs and a 100.4 rating in his 11 starts against Denver and Oakland, but has posted just fi ve TDs, eight INTs and a 64.4 rating in fi ve starts vs. Kansas City.

In six road starts in 2008, Rivers owns a 1-5 record, completing 110 of 181 passes (60.8%) for 1,429 yards with 10 TDs and seven INTs (87.9 rating). In seven home starts in 2008, Rivers owns a 4-3 record after completing 132 of 198 passes (66.7%) for 1,740 yards with 16 TDs and three INTs, numbers that equate to a 114.9 rating.

Rivers has thrown at least one INT in all fi ve of his previous starts vs. the Chiefs. Dating back to ‘95, KC is 8-1 at Arrowhead vs. SD when forcing at least one INT. The Chiefs are 31-4 (.886) at Arrowhead dating back to ‘95 against all foes when forcing two or more INTs. KC has won 10 straight at Arrowhead against the Chargers when registering two or more INTs.

KC Needs Another Solid Performance in the Turnover Department
The Chiefs were +2 (2 takes/0 gives) in their fi rst meeting with San Diego and would like a repeat performance of that effort. Kansas City owns a 46-5 (.902) record at Arrowhead when positive dating back to ‘95, including wins in 19 of the club’s last 20 home contests when positive. In KC’s last two wins against the Chargers, the Chiefs are a combined +4 (7 takes/3 gives) and have registered 34 points off turnovers. KC is a combined +8 (23 takes/15 gives) in its last 11 home games vs. SD.

San Diego is 9-45 (.167) with a negative turnover margin dating back to 2000. Over their last seven games, the Chargers are -3 (7 takes/10 gives) after going +3 vs. Oakland (12/4). SD has not forced a takeaway and has committed two or more gives in four of those contests. SD has been even or negative in fi ve of its seven road games in 2008. KC is tied for seventh in the league with 24 takeaways, while SD is tied for 18th with 18 takes. Chiefs rookie CB Maurice Leggett returned a fumble for a 67-yard TD at Oakland (11/30) and an INT for a 27-yard TD at Denver (12/7).

Gonzalez Continues to Make His Case for Canton
TE Tony Gonzalez has been on a roll since racking up 10 catches for 113 yards and two TDs at Qualcomm Stadium (11/9). It was his fi fth career 100-yard game vs. SD, his highest tally against any opponent. Gonzalez is seeking his third straight 100-yard performance vs. SD. Gonzalez has topped the 100-yard barrier in three of his last fi ve games, totaling 38 catches for 448 yards and four TDs over that fi ve-game stretch.

KC’s nine-time Pro Bowl tight end is on pace to fi nish the year with 96 catches for 1,081 yards, which would mark the fourth 90-catch, 1,000- yard campaign of his storied career, making him the fi rst TE in NFL history with four 1,000-yard seasons. He has 177 catches in 2007-08 and needs just four more catches to surpass his own two-year Chiefs record of 180 receptions he set in 2004-05. In 13 career games vs. SD, Gonzalez owns 110 catches for 1,291 yards with eight TDs, including 20 catches for 253 yards and two TDs in his last two outings against the Chargers.

The Bowe Show Continues to Roll
No Chiefs player owns more receptions or receiving yards in his fi rst two seasons with the franchise than WR Dwayne Bowe (137-1,842). He has 11 TD catches and needs three more to overtake WR Otis Taylor (13) for the highest TD catch total to start a Chiefs career. According to STATS, LLC, through the fi rst 12 games of 2008, no NFL WR broke more tackles than Bowe (12). Bowe has 19 catches for 291 yards and one TD in three starts vs. San Diego. He had seven catches for 96 yards at Denver (12/7).

Chiefs-Chargers Rushing Stats
Dating back to 2003, Kansas City is 18-4 (.818) when it boasts a 100- yard back at Arrowhead, including a 15-1 (.938) mark when RB Larry Johnson accomplishes that feat. Dating back to ‘97, the Chargers are just 6-27 (.182) when allowing a 100-yard back, including an 0-3 mark in 2008. Kansas City has won its last four matchups with the Chargers when it has boasted a 100-yard rusher.

KC ranks 14th in the NFL, averaging 115.2 rushing ypg, while SD is 26th at 98.4 ypg. Dating back to 2007, San Diego is 1-10 when it rushes the ball 24 times or less. Chargers RB LaDainian Tomlinson is averaging 68.1 rushing ypg in 2008 after registering 95.9 ypg during his fi rst seven NFL seasons. Tomlinson had 177 yards and two TDs in his last visit to Arrowhead (12/2), but was limited to 78 yards and no TDs at SD (11/9).

Chiefs-Chargers Offensive Stats - First Nine vs. Last Four Games
Kansas City has averaged 338.3 ypg of total offense the past four games after registering 288.6 ypg in its first nine games, a difference of 49.7 ypg. San Diego has averaged 296.3 ypg the past four contests after registering 349.3 ypg of total offense in its first nine games.