The football world now has a finalized kickoff time for Kansas City’s regular-season finale on the road in Los Angeles.

At the conclusion of the Kansas City Chiefs’ Week 17 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, it was still unclear exactly when they’d be facing the Los Angeles Chargers to cap off the regular season. Near the end of the night, that uncertainty was finally extinguished for Andy Reid’s squad and the rest of the NFL.

It’s official: Kansas City and Los Angeles’ AFC West rivalry will be renewed on Sunday with a 4:25 ET kickoff. The game will be broadcast on CBS.

Week 18’s Chiefs-Chargers matchup may have looked good on paper back in September or October, although there isn’t a ton riding on the line for either organization to end the season. The Chiefs secured the division title with their aforementioned victory versus Cincinnati, also locking them into the three-seed in the AFC. For the Chargers, they’re operating with a backup quarterback and an interim head coach to close out a very trying 2023 campaign. In a game between 10-6 and 5-11 franchises, this won’t have direct playoff implications for anyone involved or have a significant impact elsewhere.

When these two clubs squared off back in Week 7, it was Patrick Mahomes and company who emerged with a 31-17 triumph. Rising to 6-1 at the time, it was Kansas City’s sixth victory in a row. In that outing, Mahomes threw for 424 yards and four touchdowns in perhaps his best game of the season. Justin Herbert, still in the lineup at the time, had 259 passing yards and a touchdown but also tossed two interceptions in the defeat.

This time around, Herbert is out with an injury and it remains to be seen who will be playing for the Chiefs. In the immediate aftermath of Week 17’s game at Arrowhead Stadium, Reid admitted that he hadn’t thought far enough ahead to make those decisions just yet. Elements like statistical streaks or milestones and incentive-based outcomes are worth monitoring, but they come with a trade-off. More clarity on Kansas City’s rest-versus-workload dynamic could be coming later this week.

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