Chiefs Vs. Chargers: Five Things To Remember

The Kansas City Chiefs are traveling today to face the San Diego Chargers (I know that because I saw several players at the Plaza Art Fair last night in KC) on Sunday. The Chiefs are major underdogs but that won't stop us from figuring out a way they can win.

Here are five random thoughts on the Chiefs-Chargers game this Sunday.

The Chiefs need to show signs of life. To this point in the season, the Chiefs haven't had an impressive performance from any one side of the ball, any position group or any individual player. It's quite surprising actually. We want to see at least one player, one position group or one side of the ball show us something, anything. Show us that this won't be the worst team in football. I think part of the meltdown in KC is not that the Chiefs are 0-2 but that they've looked so utterly lifeless. Give us something Chiefs.

If there's any hope, Chiefs need to score early. They can't play from behind. We know this. If the Chiefs get down two scores early, they're in trouble. The first quarter is the most important for the Chiefs. Get a lead -- one score, two scores, whatever. Just don't exit the first quarter without a lead because the Chiefs will quickly turn one-dimensional, and then they're in big trouble.

Pass rush will be important, as usual. They have one sack through two games, courtesy of LB Tamba Hali. Can anyone else get a pass rush going? Can Tamba do it again? The Chiefs secondary is one of their strengths but they'll get beat if there's not a consistent pass rush. LB Justin Houston flashed some promise in the preseason, and DE Wallace Gilberry pressured the passer last year, so I'd like to see those two get after QB Philip Rivers.

Interested to see how the running back situation falls. RB Thomas Jones is probably going to be the closest thing to a feature back. Throw RB Dexter McCluster back there, as well. What about RB Jackie Battle? And FB Le'Ron McClain? I want to see how the Chiefs are going to break this up. Jones was very productive up until two years ago, and you saw signs of him slowing down last year. Does the slowing down continue? Does he have enough left to give the Chiefs a solid game week in and week out? There are definitely question marks there so I'm interested to see if his performance changes if he's the main guy, as opposed to splitting carries with RB Jamaal Charles.

CB Brandon Flowers may struggle. He's had a rough start to the season compared to what he did last year. He's going to be in an even tougher position this weekend because, at times, he'll be matched up against WR Vincent Jackson who is very big and very fast. Jackson is 6'5", which is about eight inches taller than Flowers. That's a tough matchup and I think Flowers' struggles against Jackson this week, especially considering Rivers' ability to go deep.