The iconic Christ the Redeemer statue. The vast Amazon rainforest and river along with world renowned Carnival celebrations is what Brazil is known for. But this week, for the second year in a row, the focus on Brazil is all about National Football League action.
The first of seven International Games this season kickoff tonight in Brazil when the defending AFC Conference Champion Kansas City Chiefs begin a season in which they are seeking a tenth consecutive AFC West title. Their competition tonight is also considered their major competition in that tenth straight division title effort, the Los Angeles Chargers.
If this game was played in Los Angeles, even though the contest is played outside the country it is being chalked up as a home game for the Chargers, the point spread would likely be a pick ‘em. On the neutral field in Sao Paulo, Corinthians Arena, the Chiefs are favored by three points.
Given how close the Chiefs played so many of their games last year, they only outscored their 2024 regular season opponents by a total of 59 points, three points in a highly competitive game may be more beneficial than having the Chargers needing to win the game outright if they were at SoFi Stadium.
Is this the year the Chiefs relinquish their nearly decade hold on the AFC West title?
A couple factors indicate that could be so. First, they are the team that lost in the most recent Super Bowl. Historically, that is a negative. Last year, the San Francisco 49ers bounced off their Super Bowl loss with a season that garnered only six wins and last place in the NFC West. The Chiefs lost the Super Bowl to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to complete their 2020 campaign, and the following season was the only year since 2019 that the Chiefs did not represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.
Then we have the Chargers prospects.
In his first season as the Chargers Head Coach, Jim Harbaugh took full advantage of his team’s talent while winning 11 games and opening the playoffs as a road favorite against the Houston Texans. It was only the second time that six-year veteran Justin Herbert guided the Chargers into the playoffs, and for a second time he lost his only postseason game.
In his second season at the helm of the San Francisco 49ers in 2012, Harbaugh led the Niners to a favorite role in Super Bowl XLVII. That game resulted in a narrow loss to his brother, Baltimore Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh, 34-31. Could Harbaugh lead another team to the Super Bowl in his second year on the job?
Yes.
The Chargers are that good and poised to not only earn a playoff spot this season but make noise in January that could land them in the San Francisco Bay Area for Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium.
If that is to be, the place to start is with an opening win over the team that has dominated their division under the direction of Patrick Mahomes. After getting all the breaks up until their Super Bowl loss last season, the luck may run dry for Andy Reid and his Chiefs this season.
And without luck, and against a team looking to avenge a pair of losses to Kansas City last season, we think Brazil is going to get known for something other than a statue, Forrest and Carnival this week. That is the beginning of the end of Kansas City’s reign at the top of the AFC West Division standings.
Qoxhi Picks: Los Angeles Chargers (+3) over Kansas City Chiefs