Week 1 Brazil Showdown

The International slate of NFL games kicks off in earnest on Friday September 5th with a showdown of AFC West rivals in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Both the Chiefs and the Chargers have nasty tastes to get out of their mouths from last years’ playoffs as the 2025 regular season kicks off. Everyone remembers the landslide defeat the Chiefs suffered in the Super Bowl to the Champion Eagles, but it’s a little easier to forget about the other side. The last time the Jim Harbaugh led Chargers took the field, they were suffering a 32-12 loss at the hands of the Houston Texans, who weren’t exactly considered juggernauts heading into the AFC playoffs. This matchup will go a long way in determining how the AFC West, a division chalk full of coaching experience, plays out this season.

Chiefs Offseason

The Chiefs didn’t do a total overhaul of the team, but just like last time they lost in the Super Bowl, the big off season focus was on the offensive line. They traded left guard Joe Thuney in March for salary cap reasons. Thuney had been moonlighting as a left tackle through the Chiefs late season and playoff run due to the lack of options at the position. Enter first round pick Josh Simmons out of Ohio State. Simmons was considered a top 10 talent at one point but was recovering from a torn ACL tear which allowed the Chiefs to grab him at 32. Kick Kingsley Suamataia into left guard to replace the departed Thuney and you have a whole new left side that the Chiefs are hoping will hold up better on Mahomes’ blind side. Creed Humphrey, Trey Smith and Jawaan Taylor will continue to anchor the other side at Center, Right Guard, and Right tackle respectively.

The other burning question for the Chiefs heading into 2025 is how much does Travis Kelce and to a lesser extent Chris Jones have left in the tank. These are two pillars of the Chiefs success during the entire Mahomes era and if Kelce, in particular, has one more dynamic season up his sleeve, it could give Mahomes just what he needs to return to MVP form.

Chargers Offseason

Now to the Chargers. The Chargers adopted Harbaugh’s mentality in a hurry last season playing a physical run first style of offense and winning close games with defense. They spent the off season revamping the roster to fit with how they want to play. After signing Najee Harris in free agency, Los Angeles backed it up by using their first round pick on North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton, both of whom should fit nicely into a downhill running scheme. Add to that one of the most talented quarterbacks in the league in Justin Herbert along with slot monsters Ladd McConkey and Keenan Allen and the Chargers offense should be able to overcome the loss of star left tackle Rashawn Slater, who was injured in the off season.

However, the offense is probably the smaller part of the equation in the Chargers route to taking the next step. In his first year as Defensive Coordinator, Jesse Minter led a Chargers defense to only allowing 17.7 points per game in 2024. If he can replicate a performance like that after the league’s OC’s have an offseason to adjust, LA may just finally challenge the Chiefs for AFC West supremacy.

No matter how you slice it, both squads have high expectations for 2025 and they’ll try to reinforce those expectations on another continent Friday night. Football is back and you couldn’t ask for a better encore game to Thursday night’s opener.