The iconic Christ the Redeemer statue. The vast Amazon rainforest and river along with world renowned Carnival celebrations is what Brazil is known for. But this week, for the second year in a row, the focus on Brazil is all about National Football League action.
The first of seven International Games this season kickoff tonight in Brazil when the defending AFC Conference Champion Kansas City Chiefs begin a season in which they are seeking a tenth consecutive AFC West title. Their competition tonight is also considered their major competition in that tenth straight division title effort, the Los Angeles Chargers.
If this game was played in Los Angeles, even though the contest is played outside the country it is being chalked up as a home game for the Chargers, the point spread would likely be a pick ‘em. On the neutral field in Sao Paulo, Corinthians Arena, the Chiefs are favored by three points.
Given how close the Chiefs played so many of their games last year, they only outscored their 2024 regular season opponents by a total of 59 points, three points in a highly competitive game may be more beneficial than having the Chargers needing to win the game outright if they were at SoFi Stadium.
Is this the year the Chiefs relinquish their nearly decade hold on the AFC West title?
A couple factors indicate that could be so. First, they are the team that lost in the most recent Super Bowl. Historically, that is a negative. Last year, the San Francisco 49ers bounced off their Super Bowl loss with a season that garnered only six wins and last place in the NFC West. The Chiefs lost the Super Bowl to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to complete their 2020 campaign, and the following season was the only year since 2019 that the Chiefs did not represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.