Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Chiefs-Chargers Rivalry: Why Are the Chiefs and Chargers Rivals

The Chiefs and Chargers get ready to renew their rivalry, but this time in Sao Paulo, Brazil!

Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

The first week of the new NFL regular season pits multiple divisional rivals against one another. One of them sees the Kansas City Chiefs going head-to-head against their AFC West rivals, the Los Angeles Chargers.

Kansas City will begin its quest for another season of success after finishing 15-2 last season and going all the way to Super Bowl LIX, where they lost to the Philadelphia Eagles.

As for the Chargers, this will be their second year under coach Jim Harbaugh, the man responsible for a quick turnaround from L.A.’s dismal 2023 campaign. Relying heavily on the run game, the Chargers have a solid foundation to build upon.

.@Chiefs vs. @Chargers under the Brazilian lights 🔥🇧🇷

KCvsLAC– Friday at 8pm ET on @YouTube pic.twitter.com/QCbBd7Un78
— NFL (@NFL) September 2, 2025

How Old Is the Kansas City Chiefs – Los Angeles Chargers Rivalry?

The Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers have been rivals for well over 60 years now. In fact, the rivalry started back in 1960, which is when the AFL at the time (American Football League) was started.

These two teams have been in the same division ever since then, creating a certain animosity between themselves. During their time in the AFL, the Chiefs and the Chargers were part of the Western Conference, and following the AFL’s merger with the NFL, both teams have been playing in the AFC West division.

The rivalry started out as the Los Angeles Chargers vs the Dallas Texans, but in 1961, the former moved to San Diego, while the Texans relocated to Kansas City in 1963 and took on the name of ‘Chiefs.’

Divisional matchup Week 1? Say less. pic.twitter.com/wLmUfJPiY3
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) September 4, 2025

Why Are the Chiefs and Chargers Rivals?

Apart from being in the same division for the past 65 years, there is no other major reason for this rivalry. As divisional opponents, every year these teams play a minimum of two games against each other, one home and one away.

Although several changes take place every offseason with roster changes and coaching changes, divisional rivals get accustomed to each other’s games rather quickly by virtue of playing one another multiple times, and that can lead to heated moments on the field and fanbase clashes as well.

Chiefs vs Chargers Head-to-Head Record for Regular Season

The Chiefs and the Chargers have met 129 times in all regular-season matchups to date. The Chiefs are currently ahead in the head-to-head 71-57-1. The first game these two teams played against one another was back on September 10, 1960, when the Chargers narrowly edged out the then Dallas Texans 21-20.

ready to run thru a wall pic.twitter.com/8sJaF4D6NA
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) September 4, 2025

Currently, the Chiefs are enjoying a nice run of 7 consecutive wins over the Chargers, something Los Angeles would be looking to end tonight. In 2024, Kansas City won both the regular-season games, despite the scorelines being close.

The Chiefs won the first game 17-10 and the second one 19-17. Not only do the Chiefs have the Chargers’ number as of late, but they have also won the AFC West for 9 years running. That is added motivation for L.A. to come all guns blazing as the battle in this division is expected to be fierce this season.

Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

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Devavrat Kulkarni

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I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!