Rob Maaddi, FISM News
The NFL’s first exclusive regular-season game on Amazon Prime Video features two of the best quarterbacks and teams in the NFL.
Justin Herbert leads the Los Angeles Chargers against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday Night Football, which has moved to a new streaming network.
Herbert is 2-0 in Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium. Both teams won their season openers and are not only strong contenders to win the AFC West but also contenders to win the Super Bowl.
“They came in last year and beat us,” Mahomes said.
It’s Week 2, as well, so that’s something you’ve got to learn from and know that they’re going to be ready to go. They’ve won here so they’re not going to be scared to come in here and play. So, we’ve got to come out here with a better mindset. We have to go out there and play better from the start and I think last year we got down 14-0 quick and had to battle back. And then the year before I don’t think I even played. It was the one last year. I think it was big for us to know that they’re going to come in with the mindset of kind of jumping on us early and trying to carry that momentum, so we’ve got to kind of match that with our momentum.
The Chargers improved their defense in the offseason, adding star rusher Khalil Mack. He had three sacks and forced a fumble in last week’s win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Los Angeles brought Mack in to face opponents like Kansas City.
“You need a team to be able to defend an offense like this, and certainly a player like Patrick,” Chargers coach Brandon Staley said.
Any time you are facing an offense that has weapons — running backs, receivers, tight ends — and that has an outstanding offensive line, you’re going to need the same thing on defense, that same type of formula. What Khalil does is he gives you that chance up front, both in the run game and the pass rush, to be able to impact the game. You need a lot more people than just your starting 11 to be able to defend a team like this.
Herbert won’t have one of his best targets, as wide receiver Keenan Allen has been ruled out after suffering a hamstring injury in the opener. Allen led the Chargers with 66 receiving yards on four catches. Staley expects the injury to keep Allen sidelined for “some time.”
Still, Herbert has Kansas City’s defense on guard. The third-year pro is already one of the league’s top quarterbacks.
“Every year he seems to get better,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “He’s very smart. He understands where to go with the ball, so you know he’s got a real good grasp of the offense. And he’s accurate. He does a nice job and that’s not getting any worse as he goes, he’ll just keep polishing that moving ahead. The experience is everything now.”
Mahomes showed no letdown after star wideout Tyreek Hill was traded to Miami. He threw five touchdown passes last week in a rout over Arizona. Tight end Travis Kelce had 121 yards receiving, the 30th time he has eclipsed the century mark.
“Not a lot different because the formula is still there for them, and it starts with Patrick and it starts with that offensive line,” Staley said about Kansas City’s offense. “When they built that offensive line the way they did, I think that they gave their quarterback an even better chance to be the best version of himself. What they do is they have eight to 10 players that they can get the ball to now. I think that that makes you even more difficult to defend because you have to be aware of everybody.”
This will be the first regular-season game shown exclusively on Amazon Prime following a $13 billion, 11-year pact to stream 15 regular-season Thursday night games along with one preseason game.
Previously, Amazon streamed Thursday night games during the 2017 season with CBS and NBC, and with FOX the following year.