Arrowhead Pride
The Kansas City Chiefs will open up their 2025 campaign Friday night in São Paulo, Brazil, against the Los Angeles Chargers — an early-season showdown that could have big implications for the season.
All eyes will be on the left side of the Kansas City offensive line, where rookie tackle Josh Simmons will make his first start alongside second-year player Kingsley Suamataia, who is taking over at guard. Both will need to be on their A-game right from the start — because the Chargers know that the key to beating the Chiefs is pressuring quarterback Patrick Mahomes. And they have the guys who can do it.
The fierce Los Angeles pass rush features future Hall of Famer Khalil Mack alongside rising edge rusher Tuli Tuipulotu. Defensive coordinator Jesse Minter will not waste time using them against the Chiefs.
With over 100 career sacks, Mack is one of the top defensive players of his era. While he’s entering his 12th NFL season, he still has plenty left in the tank — and enough moves to frustrate any offensive tackle.
Mack still has a bull rush that can knock the socks off of an unsuspecting tackle, along with an assortment of savvy moves to get past tackles who cheat by looking for the power rush off the rip.
Tuipulotu, in contrast, is more of a Swiss Army knife. He can pressure the passer from anywhere on the line, so the Chargers have given him multiple responsibilities.
Using classic power rushes (and good athletic ability), Tuipulotu can rush from anywhere, making it hard for teams to counter him. He finished 2024 with 8.5 sacks.
While Minter will show Simmons and Suamatia many different looks, they should anticipate that Los Angeles will run multiple twist moves against them.
On this tackle/end twist, the defensive tackle penetrates the B-gap, setting the left guard and left tackle on different levels. This allows Mack to run through the A-gap untouched. A closer look reveals the center sliding right — an indicator that it was a slide-right protection for the offense. That put the left side of the line into one-on-one matchups.
When both are used in twist moves, Mack and Tuipulotu can use their individual skills to give offensive linemen a difficult time.
On this third-down play — with Mack on the outside and Tuipulotu inside — Mack screams into the B-gap, contacting the left guard’s shoulder while the tackle follows him down. Using good speed and agility, Tuipulotu loops around the outside to put a lick on Mahomes.
Notably, this was D.J. Humphries’ first start at left tackle in Kansas City — and the only time that former starting left guard Joe Thuney lined up next to him. It takes time for offensive linemen to create the chemistry needed to beat twists and stunts. So we should expect the Chiefs to help their new starters by often sliding center Creed Humphrey to the left, leaving right...
