A Chargers misfire as the Chiefs prevail

INGLEWOOD (News4usonline) – The Los Angeles Chargers couldn’t finish the job. Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs finished it for them. Mahomes connected with tight end Travis Kelce for a 34-yard walkoff touchdown in overtime to give the Chiefs a 34-28 win at SoFi Stadium.

“I think we just fought. At the end of the day, they didn’t play any different coverages and we didn’t call any different plays, just guys stepped up to the challenge,” Mahomes said in his postgame remarks. “Obviously, those two drives before that where I dirt’d the fourth-down play and threw the interception, it put us in the hole. I think guys just rallied and fought and found a way to win the game.”

The victory gives Kansas City a firm lock on the AFC West Division with a two-game lead over the Chargers. Los Angeles, in the meantime, must regroup and try to win out their last three games. That means getting up to speed to beat the Houston Texans, the Denver Broncos, and the Las Vegas Raiders.

With an opportunity staring at them to be on top of the AFC West had they beaten the Chiefs for a second time this season, the Chargers could not quite put the lid on their division rivals. Let’s start wth stopping Kelce and Tyreek Hill, something the Chargers were not able to do in the fourth quarter and in overtime.

Los Angeles Chargers running back Justin Jackson (22) takes the ball from quarterback Justin Herbert (10). Jackson rushed for 86 yards on 13 carries in the Chargers’ 34-28 overtime defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs. Photo credit: Los Angeles Chargers

Kelce, including the game-winner, produced 10 catches for 191 yards and two touhdowns. The electric Hill caught 12 passes for 148 yards and a score. After keeping Mahomes and the Chiefs offense in chek for three quarters, Chargers head coach Brandon Staley watched his defense surrender 22 points in the fourth quarter and in overtime.

“This is just one game in the NFL,” Staley said. “That’s tonight was. Whether we had won it or lost it, it’s just one game in the NFL. Had we won tonight, nothing would have happened for us. Nothing. Nothing would have happened, other than it would have been a win in our division. That’s the same thing with a loss. Nothing happened today. Our whole season is in front of us.

Staley continued, “What we have to do is we need to get some rest. We have three days right now. That’s what we need to do. We need to rest. We need to be around our families, get some Christmas shopping done, take our kids to school, because the NFL season is really challenging. We just went through something really challenging.  Then, we have to come back Monday and get ready for the Houston Texans.”

One aspect of this game that may be overlooked because of all of the hype dangling on Mahomes and Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert is how well Los Angeles ran the football. A week after being tabbed as the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for the third time this season, by his standards, Herbert had a subpar outing, completing just 57 percent of his passes against the Chiefs.

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) goes back to pass against the Kansas City Chiefs. Photo credit: Los Angeles Chargers

For the game, Herbert went 22 of 38 for 236 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Offseeting Herbert’s non-Superman night was the run game, led by Justin Jackson. Jackson rushed for 86 of the Chargers’ 192 yards on the ground.

“I thought it was huge for us,” Herbert said. “To be able to run behind the offensive line, they did a great job blocking. To give the ball to Ek [RB Austin Ekeler], J.J. [RB Justin Jackson] and J.K. [RB Joshua Kelley], they ran the ball really well. We moved the ball well. Unfortunately, we just came up short. Tough, but really good to see the run game moving the ball.”

Starting with red zone play, what the Chargers didn’t do well was finish drives. Down below, the Chargers misfired on a couple of fourth down calls. A Joshua Kelley fumble right at the goal line late in the game didn’t help matters, either. If the Chargers put points on the board from any of those drives, the outcome of the game would certainly have been different.

But this is a results-driven sport. Andy Reid and his ballclub were able to capitalize on their opportunities. Kelley’s miscue was an an example of the missed opportunities for Staley and his team. Staley admitted the play was “very frustrating.”

“We wanted to run the football in there,” Staley said.”I felt like we had a really good design. You just have to be careful when you go up and over. It’s one thing to go up and over and it’s another thing to reach it out when you go up and over. It was third down, not fourth down. That’s not what we coach around here. We need to learn from that and make sure that that doesn’t happen again.”

Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen (13) on the go against the Kansas City Chiefs. Allen caught six passes for 78 yards and a touchdown in the Chargers’ 34-28 overtime loss to the Chiefs. Photo credit: Los Angeles Chargers

 After spotting Kansas City a 10-0 lead, Herbert and the Chargers looked like they had firm control of the game until Mahomes heated up in the final quarter and in the extra period. Prior to the fourth quarter, the Chargers defense played Mahomes and the Chiefs well, coming up with a sack fumble (Joey Bosa) and an interception (Uchenna Nwosu) and holding Kansas City to just 13 points to the first three periods. Then the bottom fell out.

Mahomes ended the game with 410 yards passing and three touhdowns.

“Patrick [Mahomes], he just keeps firing,” Reid said about Mahomes. “That’s the part that you love about him. He is never out of it, mentally, of a game. He just keeps rolling.”

This was a tough one for the Chargers to swallow. For Herbert, this game presents another learning opportunity for him and the team.

“As hard as it is, we’re going to have to watch the film and have to get better,” said Herbert. “If you don’t watch it and just kind of turn a blind eye to it, you’re missing out on a learning opportunity. I think for the coaching staff and the players, there is so much for us to learn and so many things we could’ve fixed out there on the field. Unfortunately, we fell short, but it’s one of those opportunities that we’re going to learn. We’re going to have to get better. We’re just thankful to be playing football still.”


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