Jon Gruden Identifies the Key Factor That’ll Decide Who Takes the ‘W’ in Chiefs vs Chargers Week 14 Showdown

In Week 14, Jim Harbaugh and his Chargers will be looking to change what happened in Week 5 of the season when they lost 17-10 to the Chiefs. Meanwhile, Kansas City will be looking to maintain their 100 percent record over the divisional rivals this season and clinch the division in the process.

Both teams have a chance to accomplish their goals this week on Sunday Night at Arrowhead and Jon Gruden knows how they can do that.

Gruden was back with another riveting episode of Gruden’s Pick, this time previewing the matchup between the Chargers and the Chiefs. He believes the matchup will come down to how each team’s special teams perform during the game. The field position, according to him, will be crucial to scoring drives.

“I do believe special teams is going to be a big winning edge in this game. Field position and drive starts will be huge. So both punter and coverage units will play a huge role in this football game.”

The Punters along with the return team as well as kick returners will have to maximize their opportunities and try to give the offense some great field positions. Having Cameron Dicker kick the ball for them will be a relief for the Bolts as he has emerged as one of the most reliable kickers in the game.

However, the Chiefs cannot say the same as their starting kickers, both Harrison Butker and Spencer Sharader are out with injuries. They just signed Matthew Wright to their roster, making him the only fit kicker in the squad.

The Chargers have made 27 field goals this season with an accuracy rate of 93.1 percent, third-best in the league. They have made 21 extra points with an accuracy rate of 87.5 percent. The Chiefs are not far behind, making 25 field goals with slightly less than 90 percent accuracy but they have made 96.6 percent of their extra points.

The Bolts have punted the ball an astonishing 58 times compared to Kansas City’s 37 times. Yet, they have a better punting average, by at least two yards. The defending champs fare better in returning kickoffs, with the Chargers returning kicks only 9 times for less than 300 yards, while the Chiefs have done so 17 times for over 450 yards.

Both teams have blocked one field goal but are yet to score a TD on a punt or kickoff return. Aside from special teams, injuries too will play a major role in deciding the outcome of the game.

Injury concerns for the Charger-Chiefs game

The Chargers were without their starting Safety Alohi Gillman, rookie CB Cam Hart, LB Denzel Perryman, and RB J.K Dobbins last week. Gruden doesn’t expect any of them to play this week either. Gillman and Dobbins are still on IR. Perryman has been ruled out for Sunday’s game.

Aside from that, star rookie wideout Ladd McKonkey is still questionable for the game. CB Asante Samuel also didn’t play last week and remains on IR. LB Junior Colston remains questionable.

As for the Chiefs, Hollywood Brown and Rashee Rice are still out. Joining them is Mecole Hardman. Harrison Butker is out too. Noah Gray, Jawaan Taylor, and Charles Omenihu are all facing injuries but fully participated in Friday’s practice which is usually a good sign.

Jon Gruden expects the game to be another defensive showdown, a slugfest, and a low-scoring game. The Chargers’ defense picked off Kirk Cousins four times last week and will be looking to do the same against Mahomes who has turned the ball more than ten times this season.