Five things that stood out about the Kansas City Chiefs’ thrilling win against Chargers
The Chiefs’ dominance of the AFC West applies to each team within the division and, in turn, of course the broader picture. When you beat up on your three rivals, you tend to wave division championship flags, and the Chiefs have the past five of them.
A sixth is in sight.
And what a way to stake the flag.
The Chiefs beat the Chargers 34-28 in overtime on Thursday, a thriller that included the Chiefs trailing the entire second half. Patrick Mahomes hit Travis Kelce over the middle, and Kelce did the rest of the work, a 34-yard touchdown that will have a lasting impression on the playoff picture.
Let’s get to it. Here are five instant observations from how it unfolded:
1. Yes, more of this, please
Patrick Mahomes.
Justin Herbert.
Eleven miles south of Hollywood.
We might get to see this for a decade. Who says no?
Heck, forget the quarterbacks — these two teams seem destined to play theatrical football games. In their three meetings over the past two seasons — we’re not counting last year’s regular-season finale, when the Chiefs rested their starters — the Chiefs won a game in overtime; the Chargers won on a touchdown in the final minute and the Chiefs won in overtime Thursday.
Look, neither quarterback was at their best on Thursday — they missed some throws; they turned it over – but they each made some plays indicative of their superior talent. From an entertainment perspective, this is something we could get used to.
Expect it to be a regular feature in primetime.
2. It was a second half the QB would like back. And then ...
Fourth down. One yard shy of the end zone. And the Chiefs’ Mecole Hardman sprung open. Wide open.
And Mahomes skipped the throw. Has there been a more impactful woeful throw from him?
After a stellar opening drive, Mahomes struggled after halftime. Several of his throws appeared to nosedive.
And then, when the Chiefs needed him, he was, well, Patrick Mahomes.
He drove the Chiefs 75 yards in 63 seconds for a game-tying score — scrambling to extend plays and scrambling to gain yards.
In overtime, it was over at the moment the coin hit the ground.
Five plays, 75 yards, a throw over the middle to tight end Kelce, who took care of the rest.
The Chiefs totaled 150 yards on their final two drives in just a shade over two minutes.
Not a bad finish.
3. So, about those fourth downs ...
The Chargers’ fourth-down aggression helped them win a game in Kansas City in September — their tie-breaking touchdown, you might recall, came only after they converted 4th-and-9 earlier in the possession.
Same aggressive calls Thursday.
Different results.
The Chargers failed on three key fourth-down tries, and while any turnover on downs is going to seem large, these were particularly consequential. They twice elected to go for it on fourth-and-goal — once on the opening drive and once on the final play of the second half — and they missed them both. The first wasted Andre Roberts’ 75-yard kickoff return. The second concluded with zeroes on the clock, which meant the Chargers didn’t see the benefit of pinning the Chiefs to a short field.
The fourth-down strategy has proven successful — not just for Chargers coach Brandon Staley specifically but based on statistical models — but it certainly hurt on Thursday.
4. The Chiefs had two defensive absences due to COVID, and they missed them both
A surging Chiefs defense played without lineman Chris Jones and linebacker Willie Gay, both of whom landed on the reserve/COVID-19 list this week.
The Chiefs could’ve used them.
In their absences, the Chargers gashed the Chiefs with rushes up the middle — you know, where Jones and Gay reside in the defense.
The Chargers surpassed 100 rushing yards before the first half concluded. To put that in perspective: The Chiefs have held three of their past four opponents under 100 yards over full games.
On their second touchdown drive, the Chargers opened with eight rushes, then one pass play, a 4-yard throw to Jalen Guyton.
The Chargers ran for 192 yards in the game.
In its most difficult test since a mid-season turnaround, the defense returned an uneven performance. They stopped the Chargers three times on goal-to-go situations. They forced two turnovers.
But they cracked when needed most.
5. The Chiefs are the league’s best offense on opening drives.
The Chiefs’ opening scripts have worked quite well, as of late, but the beauty of this one should be preserved behind glass. They marched 95 yards on 11 plays — two of which featured the fullback! — en route to their seventh opening-drive touchdown of the year.
That’s more than any other NFL team, by the way.
They only faced one third down on the drive, and they turned to the rarely-used Michael Burton with 1 yard to gain. He instead gained 7 and plowed into the end zone, a perfect finale to a perfectly-worded script.
As has also been a theme, though, three hours later, it remained their best drive of the game. And the Chiefs have to get that figured out.
This story was originally published December 16, 2021 at 11:02 PM.