LOS ANGELES -- Sean McVay has looked up to Andy Reid for years. The Los Angeles Rams' young coach constantly studies video of his Kansas City counterpart's offensive sets during the season, marveling at their intricacies and ingenuity.
"Every single week they do something where you say, 'That's pretty good,'" McVay said with an understated smile. "I'd be lying if I said we haven't stolen some of their stuff this year."
McVay gets a close-up look tonight in one of the biggest games of the regular season and a possible Super Bowl preview.
The Chiefs (9-1) are visiting the Rams (9-1) in a game originally scheduled for Mexico City before poor field conditions at Azteca Stadium prompted the NFL to move the game to California on six days' notice.
Instead, the Coliseum will host a meeting of two prolific offenses masterminded by coaches separated by 28 years of age, but shoulder-to-shoulder on the cutting edge of football.
"He's done a phenomenal job," said Reid, a Los Angeles native who lives in Orange County in the offseason. "He came up through a good system. He's put his own flair to it. He's a smart kid. I am proud of him for the job he's done."
Two offenses averaging 33 points per game have never met this late in a regular season, and the game is only the fifth meeting since 1970 between two one-loss or unbeaten teams in Week 11 or later.
Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes leads the NFL in yards passing with Jared Goff in second. The backfields contain Kansas City's Kareem Hunt, last season's NFL rushing champion, and Todd Gurley, the current runaway leader in the category.
Offensive fireworks seem inevitable in a matchup tailor-made for prime time, even if the late venue switch caused logistical hurdles for ESPN . Both teams expressed disappointment about the game being moved out of Mexico City, even though McVay said it was "clearly the right thing to do" given the field conditions.
"We're certainly not going to complain about getting the chance to play at the Coliseum in front of a great atmosphere," McVay said.
The late change of venue ruined a big night for thousands of Mexican fans and thrilled Rams fans, who will get an eighth home game to cheer, but it had little effect on either team's preparation.
The Rams planned to spend the week in Colorado Springs to prepare for Mexico City's altitude, and they decided to stay anyway -- partly because several players and coaches wouldn't be able to return to their homes this week because of wildfires surrounding the towns near the Rams' training complex. The Chiefs merely altered their travel plans to take them west instead of south.
"We really haven't had to change much, other than going to a hotel in Los Angeles," Reid said.
The Chiefs should have WR Sammy Watkins (foot) and LB Anthony Hitchens (ribs) on the field against the Rams. Neither played last week against Arizona, though Hitchens was active in what Reid called "an emergency situation."
Undrafted rookie Ben Niemann got the start in Hitchens' place and performed reasonably well. Watkins is returning to the Coliseum, where he spent last season as the Rams' deep threat before getting a huge free-agent deal with the Chiefs.
Rams CB Marcus Peters spent his first three NFL seasons with Kansas City, making the Pro Bowl twice and establishing himself as an elite defender with 19 interceptions.
But the Chiefs traded Peters to Los Angeles last offseason, and Reid has been reluctant to talk about why the organization gave up on the talented, occasionally volatile cornerback. Peters has generally played well in LA, although he acknowledged that he struggled two weeks ago when the Rams went up against the NFL's other dominant offense at New Orleans.
The Rams haven't had any evident problems with Peters off the field, either. "He's got a good feel for the game," McVay said. "He's passionate about it, and I think that I've been able to learn some things from him and enjoy being around him."
Sports on 11/19/2018