Eric Stonestreet crushed ex-Chargers star for remark about Chiefs in the Super Bowl

Chiefs fans know the drill by now.

The NFL’s offseason brings things like free agency, the draft and ... pundits proclaiming the Chargers to be the team to beat in the AFC West.

Since moving to LA, the Chargers haven’t won the division. Their last AFC West championship came in 2009, but former Chargers star Shawne Merriman was on the “Close & Conquer” podcast a few weeks ago and said the Bolts are set to end the Chiefs’ eight-year reign atop the division.

Merriman was asked if the Chiefs can be the first NFL team to win three straight Super Bowls and he said no because the Chargers had hired Jim Harbaugh as head coach.

Podcast host Shawn Meaike chuckled under his breath then asked for Merriman to share more.

“For one, the Chargers should have beat them at least one of those games last year anyway,” Merriman said. “They should have beat them. With mediocre coaching, guys hurt, bad game planning, they still had a shot to be in a game. Jim Harbaugh coming in that’s not going to happen.

“And I see them at worst case splitting games with KC (in 2024). I think they can sweep them. KC is going to go out and get a big No. 1 wide receiver. They’ve got to get a target now. They can’t keep relying on Pat. First of all, KC shouldn’t have been in the Super Bowl because they weren’t good enough. But they know how to win, does that make any sense? They weren’t even as close as dominant as they’d ever been the years before.”

Merriman said Harbaugh knows how to win and the Chargers have more talent than the Chiefs, so Kansas City won’t sit atop the West. Merriman said Harbaugh is not setting a goal of getting to the Super Bowl. He’s taking it game by game, and that’s a good thing.

“There’s no need to look to the playoffs and Super Bowl because the best team is in your division,” said Merriman, who played for the Chargers from 2005-10. “So if you win the division, things are gonna be good.”

A clip of that podcast was shared on Twitter, and many Chiefs fans roasted Merriman. That included Emmy Award-winning actor Eric Stonestreet, a “Big Slick” co-host.

Stonestreet dropped the hammer, writing on X (formerly Twitter): “Guys guys guys. To be fair to Mr. Merriman, he is very qualified and has the experience to talk about not being in Super Bowls. Give him a break.”

Zing.

Merriman responded: “If the Chargers don’t win the division I’ll donate to the facility and fly out there and work a whole day for free.”

Merriman clarified that he would work for the Chiefs at their facility if the Chargers don’t win the AFC West in the 2024 season.

Also in the podcast, Merriman praised quarterback Patrick Mahomes and said he figured the Chiefs would win the Super Bowl because they’d already defeated two teams better than them in the playoffs: the Bills and Ravens.

You can watch the full conversation here.