KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The first game San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers started against the Kansas City Chiefs set the tone for what would become a rather intense rivalry.

On Oct. 22, 2006 at Arrowhead Stadium, Rivers was 25-of-43 for 266 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He guided the Chargers to two fourth-quarter touchdowns to rally from a 14-point deficit only to see his team lose when the Chiefs' Lawrence Tynes kicked a 53-yard field goal with 11 seconds left to give Kansas City a 30-27 victory.

Including that game, Rivers is 12-6 against the Chiefs with eight of those 18 games being decided by a field goal or less.

“We’ve had some great games over the years," Rivers said. “Even going way back there’s been a lot of great games that seem to come down to the wire. That’s kind of what you expect from a division game, but I do think there seems to be more of them (between) the Chiefs and Chargers as of late.

Rivers has had many memorable games against the Chiefs, for better or for worse. Three times he’s thrown three touchdown passes in a game against Kansas City, and the Chargers won all of them. He threw for 346 yards against the woeful Chiefs in 2008 but the Chargers needed two Rivers TD passes in the fourth quarter to win by a point.

On the other hand, in 2011, he lost a fumble late in the fourth quarter of a tied game that cost the Chargers a shot at the game-winning field goal. The Chiefs went on to win in overtime. Last year, the Chiefs sacked Rivers seven times as they held the Chargers to seven points, their lowest total against Kansas City with Rivers as their quarterback.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid is relatively new to the rivalry with Rivers and the Chargers, but was given a genuine dose of it right from the start. The Chiefs lost both of their games to the Chargers in 2013, Reid’s first season in Kansas City. One loss was by three points after Rivers threw a touchdown pass with 31 seconds left, the other by three points in overtime.

The Chiefs returned the favor last season by beating the Chargers twice, once by three points on a late field goal.

One reason Reid loves coaching is the rivalry with teams like the Chargers and players like Rivers.

“You spend so much time doing this that you want the challenge," Reid said. “He’s going to give it to you."