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NFL football returns to Brazil for the second straight year to bridge the gap between the 2025 Kickoff Game and all of Sunday’s Week 1 action.
This time around, fans in São Paulo will be treated to an AFC West bout between two playoff teams from the season before as the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers square off with early bragging rights on the line.
Although Kansas City won both matchups last season on the way to capturing the division — and owns a seven-game winning streak over Los Angeles — only nine combined points separated the clubs head to head in 2024.
Each team has endured a long, long wait since blowout playoff losses ended their seasons. For the Chargers, it was a 32-12 wild-card shellacking that sent them home, while a 40-22 dismantling in Super Bowl LIX (that was at one point a 34-point deficit) wrecked the Chiefs’ pursuit of a three-peat.
Friday marks an on-field opportunity to finally turn the page, and it’ll all go down in Brazil as the NFL continues to grow around the globe.
Three must-know storylines
1) What version of Mahomes shows up in 2025? The once-unstoppable Patrick Mahomes has become a smidge more preventable in recent years despite continuing his winning ways. The two-time MVP averaged his fewest passing yards per game (245.5) and passing yards per attempt (6.8) in 2024, the first season in which he’s failed to eclipse the 4,000-yard passing mark since becoming a starter in 2018. His offense has finished 15th in scoring twice in a row now after never falling below sixth during Mahomes’ first five years under center. Kansas City’s drift to mediocrity on offense hasn’t been a byproduct of only one thing. The Chiefs defense emerged as a powerhouse, allowing for a more methodical, deliberate approach on offense to control time of possession, but there’s also been a dearth of consistently good pass catchers. Will Mahomes start airing it out again to try to rectify a Super Bowl loss, or will the new norm continue for another campaign? He’ll need Travis Kelce , who showed definite signs of slowing down last year, to stave off Father Time a bit longer, and Xavier Worthy to continue the progression he displayed at the end of his rookie campaign. With Rashee Rice suspended for the team’s first six games and rookie Jalen Royals ruled out for the opener, some combination of Marquise Brown , JuJu Smith-Schuster and Tyquan Thornton must also step up — a tall task against last year’s No. 1 defense in points against.
2) Herbert has wholly rebuilt arsenal at his disposal. Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said in July that Justin Herbert ’s biggest weakness is actually everyone else around him falling short of his level. One way to rectify such a scenario, true or not, is to stack the playmaker deck. That’s exactly what the Chargers have done. Los Angeles used a first-round pick on Omarion Hampton and signed Najee Harris , who is ready to go after an offseason eye injury, to create a new backfield duo. The team landed wide receiver Tre Harris in the second round and during camp brought back old reliable Keenan Allen for his 12th season with the Bolts after a year away. Ladd McConkey is coming off a stellar first season and should catch a little less defensive attention thanks to the reinforcements. Quentin Johnston is still in the equation and led the team with eight receiving touchdowns in 2024, but he’s hot and cold and susceptible to drops. The new corps should alleviate the pressure of Johnston needing to fill the WR2 role on a weekly basis. L.A. even bolstered the tight end position by adding Tyler Conklin , who has reeled in 50-plus receptions for four straight years, alongside Will Dissly . There are a lot of moving parts here, and the difficulty level of seamlessly incorporating them ticked up several notches thanks to left tackle Rashawn Slater ’s season-ending injury, but Herbert’s supporting cast is much more varied and impressive than this time last year. What better first test than going against the mighty Chiefs?
3) This matchup sets the tone. Kansas City feels inevitable at this point. The Chiefs, winners of nine straight AFC West titles, are a division crown away from joining the Patriots as the only teams in NFL history to capture their division for an entire decade consecutively. Patrick Mahomes is 19-4 in the first month of the season; his .826 winning percentage during September ranks below only Cowboys legend Roger Staubach (22-4, .846) in the Super Bowl era. Plus, as mentioned above, the Chargers haven’t tasted victory against their tormentors from Arrowhead since 2021. Nothing ever stays the same, though. Jim Harbaugh is known for building winners, and he’s now had a full year to spread his influence. Both of these teams meet abroad with crushing defenses, top-flight quarterbacks and all the playoff potential in the world. The upstart Broncos cannot be ignored, but it’s the Chiefs and Chargers who finished one-two in the division last year. Should Los Angeles finally emerge victorious, it could be the first step in what might finally be the Bolts’ year. If not, the Chiefs can fly back to Kansas City knowing they still have a leg up on their closest divisional competition from a season ago.