Chiefs have become NFL equivalent of Ohio State for Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh
Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh is all too familiar with being in the same division as a juggernaut.
When Harbaugh was hired as Michigan’s head coach, the Wolverines had lost three straight games to their biggest rival, the Ohio State Buckeyes. Harbaugh started 0-5 versus Ohio State before finally getting over the hump in 2021. The Harbaugh-led Wolverines beat Ohio State the next two seasons, as well, before reaching the college football mountain top in 2023.
The Kansas City Chiefs are the NFL equivalent of Ohio State for Harbaugh.
The back-to-back Super Bowl champion Chiefs have won six-straight games versus the Chargers and Patrick Mahomes is 9-2 against the Chargers since becoming the Chiefs' starting quarterback in 2018. Harbaugh experienced his first defeat to the Chiefs as Chargers head coach at home in Week 4. His Chargers travel to Kansas City for this week's "Sunday Night Football" game (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC).
“(The Chiefs) do an incredible job with everything that they do,” Harbaugh said this week. “Run game, pass game, protection, scheme (and) execution. (It’s) a tall task. We are working our way through it for the second time. Compiling the game plan that gives us our best chance of winning.”
Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter served the same role under Harbaugh at Michigan in 2022 and 2023. As Michigan’s defensive coordinator, Minter was 2-0 versus Ohio State.
Minter's defense held the Chiefs scoreless in the first quarter in their first meeting, but Kansas City went on to score 17 unanswered points in the 17-10 Week 4 win. It marked the Chiefs’ second-lowest point total this season and is one of nine one-score games the team has played.
Minter believes the Chiefs have sustained success because of their ability to win in a variety of ways.
“They've really leaned into the run game more,” Minter says. “Everybody loves the 60-yard touchdowns and the explosives, but they've proven it now and really since Mahomes has been there, but especially the last couple years, that they can win games just about every which way. They can get in the shootout and hit the explosives, and they got the skill guys to do that. And then they can grind it out. They got a really good defense, too. They trust Patrick to move the sticks.
"I think what makes them challenging is even when they are methodical, they're still so good on third down that they just move the ball.”
If the Chiefs win Sunday night, the franchise will clinch its ninth straight AFC West title — the second-longest division title streak in NFL history.
“I think it's always a great opportunity to play against them,” Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert said. “We've got so much respect for them, and we understand how much success they've had the past few years and what they've been able to do, but it's another great opportunity to go play football.”
Herbert was battling an ankle injury in Los Angeles’ Week 4 loss. He’s 2-6 in his career versus the Chiefs, but both of his victories came in Kansas City — though in the win in 2020 the Chiefs were resting their starters.
Harbaugh, Herbert and the Chargers can keep their (slim) AFC West title chances alive if they can pull off an upset victory in a raucous road environment in prime time at Arrowhead Stadium. A win would put the Chargers two games behind Kansas City with four games remaining.
“It's a special place to play. I think those opportunities under the lights, 'Sunday Night Football,' it's always a great opportunity,” Herbert said. “We got a healthy amount of respect for them and their crowd.”
The respect is mutual. Although ... it’s not quite a rivalry because the Chiefs have dominated the Chargers in recent years. Just like when Harbaugh and Michigan lost five straight games to Ohio State before the Wolverines finally got over the hump.
Follow USA TODAY Sports' Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chargers' Jim Harbaugh must find way to consistently beat Chiefs
