The Kansas City Chiefs play the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 1 — in South America.
Here are the game details for the NFL season opener:
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Central Time on Friday (9 p.m. in Sao Paulo, Brazil)
Where: Arena Corinthians, Sao Paulo, Brazil
TV: NBC (Channel 41 in Kansas City), YouTube TV
Radio: KFNZ (96.5 FM in Kansas City, KNSS 98.7 FM in Wichita)
Betting line: Chiefs by 2 1/2.
These meetings always seem close. Indeed, seven of the last eight Chiefs-Chargers games have have been decided by one score or less.
The Chiefs have won seven straight ... and the Chargers have held the lead in the fourth quarter in five of those games.
Here’s another quirk: This marks the fifth different “home” stadium in the past 10 years for the Chargers’ games against the Chiefs.
After their final meeting in San Diego in 2016, the teams met at the home of the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer, in Carson, California, the next two years. In 2019, they played in Mexico City.
The Chiefs and Chargers have played at SoFi Stadium in L.A. since 2020, and now they’ll meet at Arena Corinthians, which was the site of the 2014 FIFA World Cup’s opening match.
As the visiting team, the Chiefs haven’t lost to the Chargers since 2013, head coach Andy Reid’s first year in Kansas City.
Does the streak end in a Brazilian soccer stadium?
The Chargers were a playoff team last season, finishing the regular season with an 11-6 record in Jim Harbaugh’s first year as head coach. L.A. went through a role reversal — the Chargers led the NFL in points allowed last season after ranking 24th in 2023.
But on the other side of the ball, the Chargers went from a top 10 offense (total yards) from 2020-22 — Justin Herbert’s first three seasons — to No. 20 last season.
Look for the Chargers to emphasize the run Friday. They used their first-round draft pick to select running back Omarion Hampton from North Carolina. L.A. had already signed Najee Harris in free agency when they took Hampton, and both players are listed as starters for Week 1.
Another weapon is wide receiver Ladd McConkey, who finished with 82 receptions for 1,149 yards as a rookie last season. McConkey played just once against the Chiefs in 2024 but had a touchdown catch in that game.
The Chiefs have managed to find the winning combination — often dramatically — against the Chargers in recent years. Then-Chiefs safety Daniel Sorenson intercepted Philip Rivers in the end zone in the final seconds to seal the outcome in Mexico City.
There have been overtime walk-offs, too: Harrison Butker’s 58-yard field goal in 2020 and Travis Kelce’s 34-yard catch-and-run touchdown in 2022.
In the teams’ most recent meeting, Chiefs kicker Matthew Wright, subbing for an injured Butker, doinked a 31-yard field goal off the left upright and through for a 19-17 KC victory.
The Chiefs always seem to find a way to win. But will the bill come due on these escapes, not just against the Chargers but with their remarkable knack of winning one-score games? They hold an NFL-record 17-game winning streak, dating to 2023, in such games.
One more thing. These games have been low-scoring recently, with the winner not reaching 20 points. The better bet might be the under.
Winner: Chiefs 20-17
Pick to cover: Chiefs.