Kansas City @ San Diego preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 29, 2013 ) Kansas City 24, San Diego 27

If not for blowing an 11-point fourth-quarter lead in the season opener, the San Diego Chargers would be carrying a perfect record into Sunday's matchup against the visiting Kansas City Chiefs. Of course, Philip Rivers and the Chargers needed a late comeback of their own in last week's 31-28 victory at Oakland to run their winning streak to five games. San Diego has won six of the last seven meetings against the AFC West-rival Chiefs, including a pair of three-point victories last season.

Kansas City's Andy Reid has the most wins of any coach coming off a bye week with a 13-2 record, although each of the defeats have come in the past two seasons. Even though his team is sitting a game below .500 at 2-3, the Chiefs have played well in narrow road losses to Denver and San Francisco while manhandling New England at home. "They've got a certain toughness about them, which I like," Reid said. “That’s a tough thing to coach, that toughness thing. Until you are in the fight of playing the game, you don’t exactly know that part of it and you have to experience that."

TV: 4:05 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: Chargers -4. O/U: 45

ABOUT THE CHIEFS (2-3): Quarterback Alex Smith threw for a season-low 158 yards and was unable to generate any offense on the final four possessions of the 22-17 loss to the 49ers before the bye. The lack of a big-play threat at wide receiver is an ongoing issue, with tight end Travis Kelce leading the team with 20 catches and three TD receptions. Running back Jamaal Charles, who missed most of two games with an ankle injury, has yet to crack 100 yards and has only nine catches after hauling in 71 last season. Kansas City ranks fifth in the league in scoring defense (20.2 points) and was hoping for the return of standout safety Eric Berry (ankle), but he did not practice Thursday and could miss his fourth straight game.

ABOUT THE CHARGERS (5-1): Rivers is off to a sensational start, becoming the first quarterback in history with a passer rating of at least 120 in five consecutive games. “There are small, different stats that obviously someone’s kept for a long time, and they are meaningful,” Rivers said. “When you know you were tied with (Johnny) Unitas and (Kurt) Warner, what it says is that we’ve had a great five-game stretch.” With their top three running backs felled by injuries, undrafted free agent Branden Oliver made his first career start at Oakland and posted his second straight 100-yard game. San Diego is second in the league with 15.2 points allowed and a defense that permits 99 yards per game will be tested by Kansas City's fourth-ranked ground game (137.6).

EXTRA POINTS

1. Rivers, who has four games with three TDs this season, threw three scoring passes in both wins over the Chiefs last season.

2. Charles needs 53 yards to surpass pass Priest Holmes (6,070 yards) for the franchise rushing record.

3. Chargers TE Antonio Gates has 14 career touchdowns against Kansas City, his most versus any opponent.

PREDICTION: Chargers 23, Chiefs 20