NFL teams
Adam Teicher, ESPN Staff Writer 6y

Chiefs-Chargers rematch carries unlikely big stakes

When the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers last parted, the last thing on anyone’s mind was that the distant rematch between the teams would carry such big stakes.

The Chiefs beat the Chargers 24-10 then, in Week 3 in Los Angeles, to raise their record to 3-0 while the Chargers fell to 0-3. A week later, the Chiefs won and the Chargers lost again, stretching Kansas City’s lead over L.A. to four games.

The fortunes for both teams have reversed dramatically since, giving Saturday's rematch at Arrowhead Stadium (8:25 p.m. ET, NFL Network) significant implications in the AFC West race. The Chiefs and Chargers are both 7-6 overall and tied for the division lead with three regular-season games remaining.

“This is about as big as it gets for a regular-season game," quarterback Alex Smith said. “Division opponent, tied for first, only a couple games left. The ramifications are huge. It doesn’t get any bigger than this."

The AFC West standings were a topic on the agenda at the Chiefs’ first team meeting of the week.

“I mention those things every once in a while,” Reid said.

But he didn’t need to. The Chiefs’ once-commanding lead in the AFC West dwindled quickly and the Chiefs by last week were tied with both the Raiders and Chargers for first place.

"I think the players, they knew that," Reid said. “We always say if you’re in the last quarter of the season or so and you’re within shooting distance, you get to the month of December and you’re in the mix, then every game becomes very important."

The Chargers are 7-2 since their slow start. They’ve won four straight, three by at least 17 points.

Meanwhile the Chiefs broke a four-game losing streak with last week’s 26-15 win against the Raiders. They led 26-0 heading into the fourth quarter, giving them something positive to work with heading into their most important game of the season.

“The statisticians, if you talk to them, they’ll tell you there’s no such thing as momentum," Reid said. “But it doesn’t hurt to play well and come off a game like that. You also know at this level that you’ve got to bring it every week, every practice and every play you’ve got to do those things. A lot of hard work goes into it.”

This is the second straight year the Chiefs have had a December game at Arrowhead with big division implications. They beat the Raiders last season, the win allowing the Chiefs to overcome Oakland and move on to claim the AFC West championship.

“It’ll be a great environment for a game," Reid said. “Both teams have something on the line this late in the year. It’s kind of a neat deal. Our guys are well aware of that and we’re lucky we’re playing here at Arrowhead. We have the best fans in the world and we welcome the Chargers into it.”

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