One of the biggest questions we had heading into Monday night’s matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers was whether the field would hold up or be a problem.
Early on, it was readily apparent that the new natural-grass field was going to be a problem.
Turf was getting chewed up from the opening drive, and huge chunks of grass were being uprooted. This was clearly seen on a play in which Melvin Gordon’s knee took a huge chunk out of the turf.
Now check out this huge chunk that came up as Byron Pringle tried to change direction.
The league signed off on this field after testing it out Saturday, but clearly the turf isn’t holding up to the rigors of an NFL game.
Last year, the NFL was forced to move a game scheduled at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City to Los Angeles due to unsafe conditions. It seems clear now that the league needs to reconsider coming back to Mexico City in the future.
Fans, predictably, were upset with the product on the field.