EL SEGUNDO — The Chargers will play host to the Kansas City Chiefs in their season-opening game Sept. 5 at Sao Paulo, Brazil, the NFL is expected to announce Tuesday. FrontOfficeSports.com was the first to report that the Chargers would give up a home date at SoFi Stadium to host the Chiefs in Brazil.
The league announced earlier this year that the Chargers would be the home team for the second game ever held in Brazil, but their opponent wouldn’t be revealed until this week. The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Green Bay Packers last year in the first NFL game played in the South American nation.
The remainder of the NFL’s regular-season schedule will be announced during a three-hour TV broadcast Wednesday.
It will be the second time the Chargers and Chiefs have played outside the United States. Kansas City took a 24-17 victory over the Chargers on Nov. 18, 2019, at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. This time, the Chargers and Chiefs will play in Corinthians Arena in Sao Paulo.
Kansas City has defeated the Chargers in seven consecutive games.
According to a report from the Sports Business Journal, the Chargers and other NFL teams selected to play in international games in the 2025 season could protect up to two home games. The Chargers did not protect any of their three home dates with AFC West rivals, including the Chiefs.
The publication did not identify the two games the Chargers did protect, but if its report was accurate, then the Eagles, Denver Broncos, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Las Vegas Raiders, Minnesota Vikings, Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Commanders will visit SoFi this season.
In addition to the Chargers-Chiefs game in Sao Paulo, three NFL games will be played in London (hosted by the New York Jets, Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars) and one each in Germany (hosted by the Colts), Ireland (hosted by the Steelers) and Spain (hosted by the Miami Dolphins).
Each of their opponents will be announced Tuesday.
D-LINE OVERHAUL
When defensive linemen Morgan Fox and Poona Ford left the Chargers and signed elsewhere during free agency, Joe Hortiz had important job vacancies to fill in his second season as the Chargers’ general manager.
Fox, who signed with the Atlanta Falcons, and Ford, who signed with the Rams, were instrumental in leading the Chargers’ top-ranked defense in the 2024 season, when they gave up a league-low 17.7 points per game.
However, in only a matter of days, Hortiz got an unexpected but welcome assist in recruiting at least one of the replacements for Fox and Ford. Defensive lineman Teair Tart, who had re-signed with the Chargers, began to badger Najuan Jones, his friend and a former teammate with the Tennessee Titans.
Defensive coordinator Jesse Minter was already on the phone, trying to persuade Jones to sign with the Chargers, but Tart’s phone calls served to seal the deal for Jones, who also had played with current Chargers Bud Dupree, an outside linebacker, and Elijah Molden, a safety, while with the Titans.
“He recruited me a lot during that time,” Jones said of Tart. “I usually just try to keep it between the coaches and the agent (during free agency). But at that time, Tart was calling me every morning, (saying), ‘Did you sign yet? Just saying, come with your boys.’ Just letting me know I had an opportunity here.”
In addition to re-signing Tart and adding Jones, who will be going into his fifth NFL season, Hortiz also signed Da’Shawn Hand, a seven-year veteran from the Dolphins, and then selected Jamaree Caldwell of the University of Oregon in the third round of the draft last month.
“This is, to me, a much more skilled group,” Mike Elston, the Chargers’ defensive line coach, said of comparing and contrasting last year’s D-line with this season’s group. “So, it’s going to be even better than last year. … You build a foundation and … you don’t stop growing and getting better.”