Chiefs top Chargers…again 

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – The narrative of trying to beat the Kansas City Chiefs is getting old for the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers played the Chiefs in Week 4 at SoFi Stadium, hoping to hand the Super Bowl champions a rare AFC West Division defeat. That didn’t happen. 

The Chargers lost to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs for the sixth consecutive time. It was a painful defeat for Los Angeles. After jumping out to a 10-point lead in the first quarter, the Chargers didn’t score a single point for the rest of the game and had to absorb a 17-10 defeat.

The Chargers were held to 12 first downs for the entire game. The Chiefs limited Los Angeles to 55 yards running the football. Quarterback Justin Herbert, playing tough with a high ankle sprain, completed 16 of 27 passes for 179 yards. 

The Chargers offense simply looked flat for most of the game. The inability of the Chargers to not convert third downs hurt them in the long run. The Chargers made just 4 of 13 attempts (30 percent) against the Chiefs.   

“It’s tough,” Herbert said. “Like we said during the week, they do a good job of getting after the passer. We expected that. We knew that and I thought we were prepared for it. I’ve got do a better job of getting the ball out, quicker, with answers. I thought the offensive line did a great job stepping up and blocking and doing everything they needed to do. It’s definitely on us to be better at that.”

regroup + refocus pic.twitter.com/VuCa5wzut8

— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) September 29, 2024

The Chargers and Chiefs were tied at 10-10 in the fourth quarter before Kansas City went on the game-deciding score when running back Samaje Perine pushed his way into the endzone late in the game. It was a valiant effort by the Chargers to hold the Chiefs to just 17 points. 

Afterward, Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh gave kudos to his team for the way they played.   

“Respect. Respect for the Chiefs and respect for our team,” Harbaugh said. “Really proud of the way they fought, the way they kept playing. You could use a bunch of guys as an example. I mean [QB] Justin [Herbert] was doing everything humanly possible and then some. About the same for the other 47 guys that were dressed in this game. [OLB] [Khalil] Mack, [LB] Daiyan Henley, [LB Denzel Perryman] DP, [RB] Gus [Edwards], [RB] JK [Dobbins], everybody. Nothing but respect for the way our guys played.”    

The first of two games between the Chargers and the Chiefs marked the seventh consecutive time a contest has had a one-score outcome. Mahomes, who finished his day of work with 245 passing yards and a touchdown, said one-score games help you down the road.  

“It prepares you for the playoffs and in the playoffs, you’re going to be in one-score games,” Mahomes said. “I think the NFL is just very balanced and we are playing division games against great opponents. These are games that we have to find ways to get wins.”  

“I feel like we’re not playing, I mean it’s like a record playing, but I feel like we’re not playing our best football but we’re winning football games,” Mahomes added. “That’s a big credit to our defense. It’s a big credit to the guys stepping up offensively and in second halves. I’m glad we’re getting wins and we’ll keep building and try to keep getting better.”

Herbert said one-score games are more the norm than the exception.  

“I think there have been plenty of games, whether they’re wins or losses, where they’ve been close games,” Herbert remarked. “It’s the NFL and so we’re ready for that. We fell short today.” 

“There’s plenty of times where we can turn on the tape and see us come away with one or go score. We have to stay patient, understand that we got the right guys out there. We didn’t execute. It didn’t go our way today and that’s not going to stop us going forward next week, two weeks, whenever it is. That’s just the way the NFL is,” Herbert added.