The second game of the 2025 NFL regular season will take place in Brazil on Friday as the Chiefs and Chargers battle in an AFC West showdown. Chargers WR Ladd McConkey will look to build off a rookie season in which he finished with 82 receptions, 1,149 yards and seven touchdowns. McConkey quickly became Justin Herbert’s go-to guy as he led the Chargers in targets, catches and yards.
Will he improve on what he did last season in 2025, or will the former Georgia WR suffer from a sophomore slump? Those questions will start to be answered on Friday night.
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McConkey came along later in the 2024 season, which is not shocking for a rookie. He failed to get over this total in each of his first six NFL games, but then something clicked. Los Angeles played the Saints in Week 8, where the rookie recorded 111 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He had multiple 100+ yard games down the stretch, including in the Chargers’ Wild Card loss to Houston.
From Week 8 on, McConkey went over this total eight times in 11 games, including the postseason game. He averaged just over 98 receiving yards per game over that stretch. He saved his best performance of the season for last, recording nine catches for 197 yards and a touchdown in the Wild Card loss.
McConkey and Herbert have a lot to build on after last season, and they will be looking to hit the ground running against their biggest rival. Kansas City was below average against the pass last season as opponents averaged 220.1 yards per game through the air. That mark is good enough for 19th best in the NFL.
This should be a closely contested game, and the Chargers will need their #1 wideout to get open early and often to avoid the Chiefs loading the box and shutting down the run. We all know Jim Harbaugh wants to run the ball, but to do that, there needs to be a passing threat. Herbert and McConkey should have no problem providing that threat.
