Chiefs may regret Brazil trip if Chargers game turns into another turf disaster

The Kansas City Chiefs will open their 2025 season on international soil. For their Week 1 affair, they will take on the divisional rival Los Angeles Chargers in São Paulo, Brazil. The Chargers were announced as the designated home team for this year's Brazil game a while back, but until now, we did not know the official opponent. An AFC West division clash like this one puts even more pressure on these two to come out firing for an international showcase.

There may also be some pressure on the event itself. At least from a player's perspective, international games always lead to additional hurdles that a game in a team's own stadium would not present. For the most part, last year's first-ever game in Brazil was exciting and back-and-forth. However, the field conditions were anything but solid.

Players for either the Green Bay Packers or the Philadelphia Eagles could not get solid footing. Missed tackles were happening all over the place. In total, defenders from both Green Bay and Philadelphia combined for 20 missed tackles that night.

The Chiefs will open the 2025 season against the Chargers in Brazil, where all eyes will be on the turf after last year's slip-heavy debut.

Those missed tackles led to explosive plays. Turnovers and unique penalties also occurred due to some slipping by the players themselves. It turned into a high-scoring game, with the Eagles emerging victorious by a score of 34–29.

If the Chiefs and Chargers are going to be battling in an intense division showdown, you would hope that the turf does not result in quirky moments to water down this international contest. The teams want to go out and play exciting football for the country of Brazil. Players want to ensure that the playing surface will not lead to injuries. Just look at how Jordan Love's night ended that day. Plus, the league will want their first game outside of the United States for 2025 to flow smoothly.

If the Brazil game is essentially played on an ice rink again, we may find out which players are actually more suited for hockey. Say the turf does play a factor again—how star players are affected with initial production will be fascinating. Saquon Barkley had a magical season last year. However, his first carry as an Eagle was a five-yard loss due to the dreaded turf monster. Outside of production, the contrast in play styles will be fascinating to see if slipping occurs. The Chiefs look to attack with speed more consistently than most teams. However, the Chargers are perfectly fine with playing bully ball for all of their offensive plays.

In the end, the turf talking point will be one that surrounds this particular international game from now until the actual kickoff. Hopefully, the league can come back with a better course of action after last year's results for the playing surface.