Players to watch Sunday when Chiefs host Chargers? For various reasons, lots of them
From a personnel standpoint, the Chiefs’ Week 17 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers might be their most intriguing of the season.
With several front-line starters expected to sit out for the Chiefs, figuring out who might get the bulk of the snaps at some key positions is pure guesswork.
Remember this: The last time the Chiefs were in this position, in their 2017 regular-season finale at Denver (when they were locked into a playoff seed), players on the inactive list included these important starters: receiver Tyreek Hill, tight end Travis Kelce, corner Marcus Peters and inside linebacker Derrick Johnson. Turned out, Johnson would suit up only one more time for the Chiefs, in their playoff loss to the Tennessee Titans a week later.
Among those who were active that day but didn’t play were starting QB Alex Smith, outside linebacker Justin Houston, O-lineman Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and safety Daniel Sorensen. So, look for sweeping changes in Sunday’s lineup.
Here are some players to watch in Sunday’s game at home against L.A.
Chiefs fullback Anthony Sherman
In that 2017 game at Denver, QB Patrick. Mahomes, receiver Albert Wilson and defender Tanoh Kpassagnon, with two sacks in his career first start, were among the standouts. But Sherman delivered the most productive game of his career, at least as a ball carrier, with 40 rushing yards. With running backs Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Le’Veon Bell candidates to sit out Sunday, the KC running back group could be Darrel Williams, Darwin Thompson and Sherman.
Chiefs safety Armani Watts
Watts hasn’t made a start in his three NFL seasons. This seems like an opportunity to end that streak. Watts leads the Chiefs in special teams snaps at 81 percent. He’s found a niche here, and the excellent play of fellow safety Tyrann Mathieu has reduced Watts’ defensive snaps to a trickle. If Mathieu joins others on the sideline, look for Watts to have a busy day. Others who could see more time in the secondary: cornerbacks Antonio Hamilton, BoPete Keyes and DeAndre Baker.
Chargers wide receiver Mike Williams
Williams has had some big games against the Chiefs, and he was his team’s hero in the Chargers’ previous victory at Arrowhead Stadium, when he caught a last-second touchdown pass and two-point conversion from Philip Rivers. Last week, Williams added to his game when he played center fielder in a Hail Mary situation and intercepted Denver’s Drew Lock to secure the Chargers’ victory.
Chargers linebacker Kenneth Murray
The rookie from Oklahoma will finish the season as the Chargers’ leading tackler. He enters Sunday with 104, and 10 came against the Chiefs (along with a pass defended) in Week 2. He said this past week that playing a team for the second time gives him an advantage: “I’ve always been the type of guy that if we play a team once, when we come back and play them a second time, you’re able to see things and see how they do things to be able to capitalize on those things. I think that’s been another thing to my benefit, being able to play our division teams twice a year.”
This story was originally published December 31, 2020 at 4:51 PM with the headline "Players to watch Sunday when Chiefs host Chargers? For various reasons, lots of them."