The Kansas City Chiefs kick off the 2025 season on Friday night with a matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Here are five things to keep in mind heading into game day.
1. Here's a look at the final injury report for both teams.
The Chiefs' injury report is limited to rookie wide receiver Jalen Royals, who will miss Friday's game due to knee tendonitis, and defensive tackle Omarr Noman-Lott, who is listed as "Questionable" due to an ankle injury. The rest of the roster appears ready to go, however, including wide receiver Hollywood Brown (ankle) and linebacker Jack Cochrane (knee), who each dealt with injuries in recent weeks.
As for the Chargers, the major storyline of note heading into Friday's game was tailback Najee Harris, who missed time during training camp and the preseason due to an eye injury suffered in July. Harris returned to practice earlier this week and appears ready for Friday's game.
It's also worth noting that the Chargers lost starting left tackle Rashawn Slater to a season-ending knee injury during training camp, causing a ripple effect through one of the league's better offensive lines.
2. The Chiefs are no stranger to the international stage.
Friday night's game will mark the second-ever NFL game in the country of Brazil, and for the Chiefs, this will be the fourth country outside of the United States in which they'll have played a regular season game.
Kansas City has played in the United Kingdom (2015), Mexico (2019) and Germany (2023) in recent years, winning all three contests. The Chiefs will become the first team in NFL history to play a regular-season game in four different countries outside of the United States, and with a victory on Friday, Kansas City would match Minnesota for the most international wins without a loss of any team in the NFL.
Additionally, it's worth noting that all three of the Chiefs' previous international games took place under Coach Reid, who is quite familiar with how to manage the unique nature of Friday's game.
"Having done it before, I think our people have a pretty good feel for it," Reid said. "It's an interesting process, but our guys have gotten pretty efficient with it over the years."
The game on Friday will take place at Arena Corinthians, which is home to the Sport Club Corinthians Paulista soccer team. The matchup is technically a home game for the Chargers, but the Chiefs will surely be well-received.
3. Los Angeles' offense thrived on running the football and using play action last year.
The Chargers' offense is engineered by veteran play-caller Greg Roman, who is known for being the architect of the San Francisco 49ers' offense under Colin Kaepernick and the Baltimore Ravens' offense under Lamar Jackson. Those offenses were designed around a strong running attack and a play-action passing game, and Roman's scheme in Los Angeles – at least last year – was quite similar.
In fact, Chargers' quarterback Justin Herbert posted the highest completion percentage, the second-most completions and the second-most passing yards of any quarterback using play action in the NFL last season. It was part of a great year for Herbert, who threw 23 touchdowns and just three interceptions, which marked the fewest of any qualified passer.
That play action success was set up by a tremendous running game, and while leading-rusher J.K. Dobbins is no longer in town, the Chargers replaced him by drafting tailback Omarion Hampton in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft and by signing veteran Najee Harris in free agency.
It has the makings of a formable duo that plays right into Roman's scheme, but fortunately for Kansas City, the Chiefs excelled at limiting opposing running backs last year. The Chargers failed to top 100 rushing yards in each of their two games against Kansas City in 2024, and as a result, Los Angeles was held under 20 points in each contest.
The Chiefs will aim to do the same on Friday, and with that in mind, one major factor to monitor throughout the game will be the stability of Los Angeles' offensive line. The Chargers lost standout left tackle Rashawn Slater to a season-ending knee injury during training camp, igniting a domino effect that moved right tackle Joe Alt to the left side and reserve Trey Pipkins into Alt's vacated role on the right.
Los Angeles' ability to operate offensively amidst its shuffled offensive line will be something to watch, especially when it comes to the passing game. Herbert was just about flawless when provided with a clean pocket last year, but when pressured, the Chargers' offense wasn't nearly as effective.
Herbert with a Clean Pocket in 2024: 71.1% completion percentage, 18 TDs, 0 INTs, 113.0 passer rating
Herbert Under Pressure in 2024: 52.5% completion percentage, 5 TDs, 3 INTs, 72.5 passer rating
It's all to say that the Chiefs' ability to stop the run, which they did tremendously well last year, and create pressure on Herbert in the passing game – especially considering the changes up front – will be paramount on Friday.
4. The Chargers fielded the league's No. 1 scoring defense in 2024.
Los Angeles' identity under Head Coach Jim Harbaugh is simple: the Chargers want to run the football, limit turnovers and – perhaps most importantly – play excellent defense. They did all three of those things last year, and on the defensive side of things, no unit in the NFL yielded fewer points on a per-game basis than Los Angeles.
The Chargers also led the league in opponent red zone touchdown percentage (45%) while ranking fifth on third down (35.7%). They also held the opposition to 20 or fewer points on 13 occasions, marking the most such games of any team in the NFL.
It's worth pointing out that the Chargers lost some key contributors from last year, including pass-rusher Joey Bosa and cornerback Kristian Fulton (who's now a member of the Chiefs), but they return a formidable duo at edge rusher in Khalil Mack and Tuli Tuipulotu.
5. Can the Chiefs generate more explosive plays in 2025?
The aforementioned Chargers' defense will be a challenge on Friday, but it's also a great first test for a Chiefs' offense that has repeatedly voiced its desire to rediscover its explosiveness this season.
The Chiefs ranked 27th in the NFL with just 49 plays of 20+ yards last season, representing a significant departure from the high-flying offense with which Kansas City was synonymous not too long ago. The Chiefs instead embraced a scheme that chipped away down the field due in large part to the significant injuries Kansas City sustained early in the season, but now entering 2025, the mantra all offseason was about how the Chiefs needed to add an explosive element to an offense that ranked 15th in the NFL in scoring a year ago.
Interestingly enough, as good as the Chargers' defense was last year, Los Angeles surrendered the 12th-most plays of 20 or more yards of any team in the NFL. A few explosive plays offensively for Kansas City on Friday night could go a long way toward not only a victory, but also toward making a statement that the Chiefs' offense is back to its roots.
It all makes for an outstanding matchup on the international stage to begin the year, and as the Chiefs take aim at a 10th consecutive AFC West title, defeating the Chargers in Week 1 would certainly be a good place to start.
