9 reasons you’ll want to watch Chargers vs. Chiefs on ‘Thursday Night Football’, and only 3 of them are Patrick Mahomes

It’s hard to believe it’s already here. Not the last Thursday Night Football game of the 2018 season, but the last game on Thursday night. Then, Thursday Night Football moves to Saturday for the next two weeks because ... IDK, brands I guess.

On paper, none of those four upcoming Saturday games come close to matching the quality of the Thursday Night Football on Thursday night finale. The NFL probably had no idea it was saving the best for last when it scheduled Chiefs and Chargers to kick off Week 15. We’ll gladly accept it, though. Two division rivals. Two teams with the best records in the AFC. Two double-digit win teams. Two MVP-caliber quarterbacks. A potential sneak peek at the playoffs.

That should be enough reason to watch what could be the best Thursday night season finale since The Office’s “Casino Night” (which was ... 12 years ago. Ahhh). If it’s not, here are few more, including the long-awaited return of a familiar face and the chance for the Chargers to break their curse and get back in the playoffs.

There were plenty of doubts about Patrick Mahomes — except among our friends at Arrowhead Pride. They’ve been on the Mahomes bandwagon since day one, telling us all along that, yes, it was worth trading up to draft him. Yes, it was worth trading away Alex Smith. Yes, he’s more than a big arm. Yes, a Texas Tech air raid quarterback CAN thrive in the NFL.

Before the season, hype for Mahomes had reached a fever pitch that was bordering on obscene. Yet somehow, he’s exceeded all expectations.

There are few smarmier internetisms than “If you don’t like X, then I can’t help you.” Just like what you like. Everyone else isn’t the arbitrator of good taste.

THAT SAID, how can you not enjoying the kind of season Mahomes is having? Well, unless you’re a fan of one of the Chiefs’ AFC West rivals, or the only sliver of happiness you get in this world is being a contrarian, or you’re Skip Bayless. Mahomes is not just the MVP frontrunner. He’s having arguably the best season for a quarterback ever. He leads the league in passing yards, touchdowns, and yards per throw. He needs just seven more touchdown passes to join Peyton Manning and Tom Brady as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to throw for 50 in a season.

Reminder: he’s just 23!

And just when you think he can’t possibly get better, he throws the type of game-saving pass on fourth-and-9 that would be a back-breaking mistake for any other quarterback. He’s so out of this world that it might not have even been his best throw in the comeback win against the Ravens’ top-ranked defense.

In a season when he keeps topping himself with the kind of throws that look like they belong in a trick-shot montage, what you think is his best throw is subjective. Personally, I’m partial to the no-look pass that would even make LeBron James jealous:

Philip Rivers probably doesn’t get enough due for his toughness. I don’t mean that in a football way, though he is that — Rivers is 37, he’s never missed a start, and he once played in the AFC Championship with a torn ACL.

I mean his mental toughness. He and his wife, Tiffany, are expecting their ninth child (which will no doubt be mentioned on the broadcast in case there’s a prop bet you want to put money on). How even millionaire parents have the emotional energy to spend on nine kids is beyond my comprehension.

I’m convinced this is how at least Phil does it: He bottles up every emotion he has throughout the week and unleashes it on the football field. He’s like an entire emoji keyboard:

With a running game that might not be able to contribute much — Melvin Gordon is questionable and Austin Ekeler is out — Rivers is going to have to carry the offense. So go ahead and mute Joe Buck (please). You can tell exactly how the game is going just by Rivers’ facial expressions.

Can you believe it’s been more than 15 months — Week 1 of the 2017 season — since Eric Berry has played in a game? He tore his Achilles in last season’s opener, and he’s missed the first 14 weeks of this season with a mysterious heel injury.

It’s not official quite yet that Berry will make his 2018 debut with just a few weeks of 2018 remaining. He was still listed as questionable on the Wednesday injury report. But this sure looks official:

This is great news for Berry, who’s had a roller coaster career the last few years. In 2014, he missed time with an ankle sprain and was then diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which ended his season. Seven months later, he was declared cancer-free and went on to be named the 2015 NFL Comeback Player of the Year. The following year, he had his best season as a pro yet, turning that into a new contract that made him the highest-paid safety in the league.

He’s only played one game since.

It wouldn’t be fair to expect Berry to immediately take his All-Pro form the first time he returns to the field. But there’s no question he can help the Chiefs, especially Thursday against a Chargers offense that can create big plays in the open field:

Last week, Thursday Night Football introduced the Titans-Jaguars game with Waylon Jennings’ classic “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way.” If not for Derrick Henry’s monster game, it would’ve been the peak of the night.

The bumper music included Sturgill Simpson, to the delight of football Twitter, and Van Halen, for reasons I still haven’t figured out.

So what will we get this week? Well, there are way more songs than you probably realize that reference Kansas City.

My guesses: Van Morrison’s “The Eternal Kansas City,” James Brown’s “Living in America (LA AND Kansas City shoutouts), and something by Chiefs superfan Melissa Etheridge.

My wish list: Neko Case’s cover of The Shangri-Las’ “The Train From Kansas City,” just because I had never before considered the possibility of Neko Case intersecting with a primetime football game and now it must happen.

Speaking of Chiefs superfans, please let the Dorian Gray Paul Rudd show up in a Santa suit again:

It’s been three years. We need that sequel already, Ant-Man.

The first time the Chargers and Chiefs played this season was in Week 1, a 38-28 “road” win for Kansas City:

The Chargers were also without 2016 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Joey Bosa. Four weeks ago, Bosa returned. His playing time has been limited, but he’s managed to put up four sacks even as he’s still getting back in the swing of things. Last week, Bosa played 79 percent of the defensive snaps; his pass-rushing companion Melvin Ingram played 99.

Here’s what head coach Anthony Lynn said about Bosa earlier in the week:

“Joey’s getting better every single week,” Lynn said. “But, you don’t just miss 13, 14 weeks of football and come back and pick up where you left off. The first couple of weeks, we monitored his play count, then, last week, we just kind of turned him loose and now he’s back in his normal rotation. I just believe he’s getting better every game and I think that’s going to do nothing but help our defense and our football team.”

The Rams harassed Mahomes more than any other defense this year. Despite the deluge of points in that game, the defense — forcing Mahomes to turn it over five times — is what ultimately led to the Rams’ win.

In Week 1, the Chargers only sacked Mahomes once and didn’t have any takeaways. Maybe Bosa can change that this time around — and maybe he’ll bring back his shrug celebration if he can get to Mahomes.

The Chiefs are 11-2 and sewed up a spot in the playoffs last week. Their next goal is to secure the AFC West and a first-round bye, which will happen if they beat the Chargers. They can also clinch the No. 1 seed in the AFC this week if they win and the Patriots lose to or tie the Steelers.

So not only is the division on the line , but home-field advantage in the playoffs. Then again, considering the Chiefs’ recent postseason history at Arrowhead Stadium — no wins at home in 25 years — maybe that’s not a good thing.

The Chargers were a competent kicker away from making the playoffs last season. They might actually have the former this year with Michael Badgley (don’t worry, Chargers fans — I’m knocking on all the wood); they can also clinch a playoff spot with a win Thursday. That would also pull them even in the standings with the Chiefs, which means the AFC West, and the top of the AFC, would be up for grabs in the final two weeks of the season.

And ya never know, the Chiefs and Chargers could meet again for round three in January.