1) Justin Herbert‘s shot at the crown: Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes uttered an infamous line this offseason when a Los Angeles Chargers fan told him to be wary of Herbert. Mahomed butchered his cliché response at the time — “I’ll see it when I believe it,” he said during a golf event — but his sentiment was appropriate. The Chargers’ second-year QB needed to live up to the hype that has been building around him, and this Thursday’s meeting with the Chiefs will be the ultimate barometer. The Chiefs have been rolling since a 3-4 start, as they’ve ripped off six straight wins. Most impressively, their defense has gone from being the worst in the league to being one of the best. So as much as this will be billed as a matchup between Mahomes and Herbert, it really will come down to whether Herbert has answers once again for the Chiefs defense. He announced himself to the league last season when he entered a home game against Kansas City — after Chargers starter Tyrod Taylor went down in warmups — and nearly led Los Angeles to an overtime win. Herbert also threw for 281 yards and four touchdowns in a 30-24 victory over Kansas City in Week 3 this season. More recently, he’s found a way to steady his performances after playing erratically in losses to Minnesota, New England and Baltimore. Herbert has led the Chargers to two consecutive wins, completing 74 percent of his passes and throwing six touchdowns to one interception in that span. He’ll have to be that sharp against Kansas City, because the Chiefs’ pass rush has exploded, and their defense has allowed just 65 points during their current win streak. Basically, it feels like Kansas City is returning to the form that made it a popular Super Bowl pick before the season. The Chargers, on the other hand, can take a huge step toward claiming the AFC West title by winning this game, improving to 9-5 and seizing control of the tiebreaker. It’s all there for Los Angeles after watching the Chiefs capture the division over the last five years. The only question is whether Herbert is ready for the biggest test of his young career.
