Chiefs vs. Rams 2018 live stream: Start time, TV schedule, and how to watch online

The Kansas City Chiefs will have their hands full when they face the Rams and their No. 3 scoring offense on Monday night. Their secret weapon to derail LA? The league’s No. 2 scoring offense.

Two titans meet in one of the most anticipated regular season games of 2018 in Week 11. That showdown, originally scheduled for Mexico City but since moved to southern California due to unplayable turf at the Estadio Azteca, will see the Rams attempt to protect their home field against a powerful foe. Los Angeles’ only loss of the season so far came against an MVP candidate in the Saints’ Drew Brees. On Monday, the Rams will have to plan against the MVP frontrunner, Chiefs’ QB Patrick Mahomes.

Mahomes has been an entirely unreasonable human being in his first year as a starter. The former first-round pick is on pace for 5,000 passing yards and 50 touchdowns while adding the extra gear that’s taken the Chiefs’ offense from good to great. But he hasn’t faced a pass rusher like LA tackle Aaron Donald, and if he’s going to shine in prime time, he’ll have to do so under a whole lot of pressure.

Jared Goff and Patrick Mahomes are both incredible.

We have this weird tendency to distill NFL games into a “battle of the QBs,” because the idea of prize fights are fun — even if one quarterback’s play has no bearing on the other. That said, this is one of those games where both passers are so good it’s going to be stupidly entertaining no matter which offense is on the field.

Goff and Mahomes’ numbers are like something out of a video game.

Goff: 68.4 percent completion, 3,134 yds, 22 TD, 6 INT — 113.0 rating

Mahomes: 67 percent completion, 3,150 yds, 31 TD, 7 INT — 117.4 rating

I’ll let you argue who’s better if you want to go down that route and split hairs, but these are two standouts who will almost assuredly be superstars when all’s said and done. This is like watching the early days of Brady vs Manning, and it could be the kind of league-defining game future generations talk about.

These two explosive offenses cancel each other out to a certain degree. The Chiefs have the better receivers, the Rams have the better runners, and both are amazing. That means the difference Monday night is going to come down to a combination of coaching and defense. Sean McVay, for all his accomplishments, lacks the experience and regular season mastery of Andy Reid (though he won’t both his clock management nearly as catastrophically as the veteran coach).

But the biggest edge may be a Rams defense that’s better on paper than it’s been on the field. If Donald can sew chaos, the rest of the team’s formidable front four should be able to harvest some sacks. And one or two big stops may be all it takes to pull out a win; Rams in a shootout squeaker.