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Monday Night Football with a flare. Tonight’s game has gone international, but not quite across the pond. Just slightly south-west instead. The Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers will face off in Estadio Azteca, located in Mexico City.
This year, the field is set and is in good playable conditions. Last season, the Chiefs and Rams were set to play in Estadio Azteca. But, the game was relocated just one week before kickoff due to unplayable field conditions.
However, tonight’s matchup will not be the first league game to be played in this stadium or in Mexico. The game will mark the fourth time Estadio Azteca will hold a NFL regular season game and the 10th time an NFL game will be played in Mexico City.
https://twitter.com/Chiefs/status/1196080803274321920
What you Need to Know:
This Monday night matchup is a crucial AFC West game for both teams. Coming in, Kansas City has dropped the four of the last six games, despite going 4-0 to start the season. Oakland has crept up to the Chiefs lead for the division. The Raiders are within a half of game to clinch the top spot.
Los Angles comes in at 4-6 on the season. They have had their fair share of struggles this season, but still remain in control of their own destiny. Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers said,
“It’s not 100% accurate, but to almost be able to say that you control your own fate at 4-6 is pretty rare.”
Rivers called Kansas City a heck of an opponent and said the game would provide a challenge for the team.
Back and Better:
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes returns for the second week, after missing two games due to a knee injury. Last week in a loss to the Titans, the quarterback threw for three touchdowns and 446 yards seeming to look and play more like himself since the injury.
After the game, Mahomes said, “I feel really good honestly and just being able to go out there and play the game and do the things I have grown accustom to doing like scrambling.”
He also said coming out of the game healthy was a good sign moving forward.
In addition to a healthy quarterback, the Chiefs will also get back offensive tackles Eric Fisher and Cam Irving as well as guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and defensive end Frank Clark.
https://twitter.com/Chargers/status/1196199260368392192
Pressure Coming:
A large portion of tonight’s attention will be on star quarterback Mahomes and how Philip Rivers will preform for the Chargers. However, if Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram, the Chargers’ two defensive ends, have anything to do with it, they will make their presence known. The duo have combined for nine sacks in the last four games. The pair have wrecked havoc for opposing teams offensive lines, breaking through to get to get to the quarterback.
Bosa, who has 8.5 sacks on the season so far, said the key to facing Mahomes is to try to keep him in the pocket and affect him with the pass rush.
Tune into WRUF at 7:30 p.m. to catch all the Monday Night Football action.
