Chargers vs. Chiefs Prediction: A Friday Night Affair in Brazil

• Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice is suspended for the first six games of the season. 

• Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh said it’s a “possibility” that running back Najee Harris will play Week 1. 

• Week 1 marks the debut of fellow Chargers running back, rookie Omarion Hampton. 

The second game of the 2025-26 NFL season takes place on a Friday night, live from São Paulo, Brazil, as the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers square off. This is the first meeting between the Chiefs and Chargers since the Chiefs beat the Chargers at home, 19-17, on Dec. 8, 2024. 

The Chiefs will be without their No. 1 wide receiver as Rashee Rice is suspended for six games. It remains to be seen if this will impact the teams' Super Bowl odds.

Conversely, this marks the first game for Chargers rookie running back Omarion Hampton to make his mark on the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds. 

See my picks and predictions for this game below. 

Chargers vs. Chiefs Odds

All odds for this game are courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook, where you can get $300 in bonus bets if your first $5 wager wins. 

Chargers vs. Chiefs: My Pick

• My Pick: Chiefs ML (-166) at FanDuel Sportsbook

Picking Week 1 games can be a challenge with so many differences, but when you factor in that it’s a divisional matchup, on Friday night, and in another country, there are even more variables to consider. 

Overall, though, I’ll take the Chiefs moneyline. 

The Chargers did move Joe Alt from right tackle to left tackle to help compensate for losing Rashawn Slater, but now I worry about the right side of the offensive line,, as they need to deal with Chris Jones and George Karlaftis. 

I also have more faith in the Chiefs’ cornerback, namely Trent McDuffie, against a group of outside receivers that’ll likely include the aging Keenan Allen, recently concussed Quentin Johnston, and a less-than-stellar rookie Tre’ Harris. 

This is also the debut of rookie running back Omarion Hampton. He’s a fantastic running back, but it’s important to temper Week 1 expectations for rookies, especially a running back with a weakened offensive line and Jones bearing down on him. 

I’m not expecting a high score, but look for the Chiefs to hone in on Travis Kelce in the passing game and let Isiah Pacheco gut out some yardage on the ground. 

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Chargers vs. Chiefs Prediction

Chargers Preview

The Chargers enter this game with a great young quarterback in Justin Herbert. The last time we saw him, though, he completed just 43.8% of his passes and had four interceptions in a playoff loss to the Houston Texans. 

He’ll have another season with McConkey, who had a fantastic rookie campaign in 2024, and the Chargers drafted a receiver, Harris, in the second round. However, he’s not shown a bunch this preseason. 

They do have Hampton making his debut, and I believe he’ll get plenty of usage as the year goes on. 

The Chargers' most notable injury is Slater, who’s out for the season with a torn patellar tendon. 

I expect the Chargers to try to play “keep away” here and keep the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes off the field. 

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Chiefs Preview

Without Rice, the Chiefs will likely turn to Kelce early and often. Last season, Rice was injured in Week 4, during a matchup against the Chargers. He left quite early, and in his absence, Kelce caught seven of nine passes for 89 yards. Other than that, this offense looks extremely similar to last season. Hollywood Brown missed almost all of last season, but Mahomes will have him at his disposal all season. 

The storyline to watch for in this game is the offensive line. How will rookie left tackle Joshua Simmons, who’s coming off a torn patellar tendon last season in college, do in his debut game? 

I also would not be surprised to see wide receiver Xavier Worthy do some damage against Chargers cornerback Donte Jackson, who allowed four catches on four targets for 77 yards in Week 17 last season against the Chiefs while he was on the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

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Chargers vs. Chiefs Injuries

Los Angeles Chargers

• Eric Rogers - undisclosed injury

• Deane Leonard - leg injury

• Josh Harris - undisclosed injury 

• Junior Colson - shoulder injury 

• Najee Harris - eye injury

• Quentin Johnson - concussion

• Rashawn Slater - knee injury 

Kansas City Chiefs

• Hollywood Brown - ankle injury

• Jalen Royals - knee injury 

• Nazeeh Johnson - shoulder injury 

• Brandon George - undisclosed injury 

• Ethan Driskell - appendix

• Jake Briningstool - hamstring injury 

• Omarr Norman-Lott - ankle injury 

• Felix Anudike-Uzomah - hamstring injury 

Chargers vs. Chiefs: Best Promos and Sportsbooks

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How to Watch Chargers vs. Chiefs

• When: Friday, Sept. 5, 2025

• Where: Corinthians Arena in São Paulo, Brazil

• How to Watch: YouTube

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