Chiefs-Chargers rivalry goes global with record-breaking stakes in São Paulo

The Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers will open the 2025 NFL season abroad. The AFC West rivals have been given the honor of playing just the second game in league history to be staged in Brazil. The clash at Arena Corinthians this Friday, September 5, promises fireworks, with Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce on one side and Justin Herbert and Derwin James on the other.

The Chiefs traveled nearly 6,000 miles to reach São Paulo, while the Chargers’ journey was slightly longer. But beyond the mileage, there’s plenty riding on this divisional opener. Kansas City has dominated the AFC West for the past nine years, and a loss in Week 1 would show a rare crack in their armor in 2025. It would also serve as proof that Los Angeles’s defense might truly be among the league’s elite this season.

One stat worth noting: Jim Harbaugh has never lost a Week 1 game as head coach. He went 4-0 with the San Francisco 49ers, with wins over the Seattle Seahawks (2011), Green Bay Packers (2012 and 2013) and Dallas Cowboys (2014). Last year, he began his Chargers tenure by beating the Las Vegas Raiders at SoFi Stadium.

Special teams could also make history in São Paulo. Kicker Cam Dicker is just three field-goal attempts away from joining the NFL’s all-time list. With 97 career tries so far, hitting 100 would make him eligible – and even if he misses all three, he would leapfrog former Baltimore Ravens star Justin Tucker, whose career rate stood at 89.1%.

The record Mahomes could break in Brazil

Mahomes enters Week 1 tied with Dan Marino on 245 touchdown passes before the age of 30 – a milestone Marino set with the Miami Dolphins. The Chiefs quarterback turns 30 on September 17, meaning he has two games left to surpass the Hall of Famer. Doing it at Arena Corinthians would add a special flourish to the achievement.

This would also be Mahomes’s third international win. Kansas City played in London back in 2015, but he was not yet on the roster for the victory over the Detroit Lions. Since then, he’s gone 2-0 abroad, beating the Chargers in front of 76,252 fans at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca in 2019, and defeating the Dolphins in Frankfurt, where a German crowd roared throughout.

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