Chiefs’ defensive struggles vs. Chargers stemmed from what they didn’t see coming
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Chiefs defense misread Chargers' pass-heavy game plan, struggled to adjust.
- Lack of pass rush and blown assignments led to wide-open Chargers receivers.
- Locker room unity holds as Chiefs prep for Eagles despite Week 1 frustrations.
Going into the Chiefs’ first game of the season, the prevailing view of the L.A. Chargers was that they would re-identify themselves in 2025.
In line with coach Jim Harbaugh’s DNA, they’d adopt a ground-and-pound, run-first approach, becoming a bulldog that would batter you with body blows before delivering a knockout punch in the pass game.
As it turned out, Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo thought so, too. But L.A. flipped the script.
After a Chiefs three-and-out that included the quick departure of speedy receiver Xavier Worthy, the Chargers came out firing. QB Justin Herbert scrambled and threw two passes before his first handoff.
At the end of the first quarter, Los Angeles led 7-0. And Herbert already had over 100 passing yards. He would go on to throw the ball 34 times for 318 yards and three touchdowns.
The Chiefs, meanwhile, would never really settle in.
“Quite frankly, going into the game we all felt like they would try to establish the run first,” Spagnuolo, the Chiefs’ defensive coordinator, said of the Chargers on Thursday. “To their credit, they kind of shifted gears right from the beginning — maybe it threw us off a little bit.
“But, I mean, that’s football. We did talk a lot about in the first game of the season or in the first quarter of the season, it’s going to be about adjusting in game. Maybe we could have adjusted a little bit quicker.”
The Chargers scored on three of their four possessions in the first half, and though the Chiefs’ defense forced a three-and-out to start the second, KC gave up two straight touchdown drives to end the game.
The issues were everywhere. The Chiefs could not generate consistent pressure on Los Angeles’ line, which in part led to receivers being wide open all over the field.
Spagnuolo didn’t shy away from criticism.
“Early on there were a couple of plays that they ran that I thought were better plays than the defenses we had called,” he said. “I just didn’t feel like I had one of my better games. And usually when I’m making a mistake it’s a fairly critical one because I feel like I should have called something else.
“But it begins with me. If I sit there and critique and look in the mirror and I’ve got three or four plays and I go, ‘No, I shouldn’t have done that,’ that could be the difference in the game. I myself want to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
Despite their slow offensive start and leaky defensive play, the Chiefs still managed to give themselves a chance to win on the back of a dazzling second-half performance by quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
But on the game-sealing third-and-14, KC defensive end Chris Jones blew an assignment that may have given Kansas City the ball back. YouTube cameras caught linebacker Drue Tranquill giving Jones an earful afterward.
The Chiefs have since downplayed any lingering fallout from the tense TV moment.
“It’s just highly competitive guys trying to go out there and get wins — that’s the goal of this game,” linebacker Nick Bolton said. “Obviously, had a fiery moment there, but at the end of the day, we’re brothers, we’re family.
“Just like a moment when you and your brother argue, but you still love each other 10 minutes later, it’s definitely been that vibe — everybody still loving on each other, still the same team, no rifts.”
The Chiefs sound unified within their locker room as they prepare for Sunday’s Super Bowl LIX rematch against the Philadelphia Eagles. Outside of that locker room, however, questions have continued to swirl.
“I don’t think (the vibe’s) changed,” defensive lineman Charles Omenihu said. “I think it’s only like people outside of here that feel like the vibe has changed. It’s game one. It kind of aggravates me a little bit — but it’s game one. Obviously it has to be better for the pass-rush wise, but game one — guys are gonna get in their groove.”
Two seasons ago, the Chiefs finished second in the league as a team with 57 sacks. That rank dipped to 18th in 2024, when the Chiefs had 39. In Brazil, KC registered three sacks — two from Tranquill and another by George Karlaftis.
Omenihu said his frustration is drawn from the unit’s stout body of work since he signed with the club in 2023.
“That’s why you’ve got another opportunity,” Omenihu said. “That’s why now it’s Week 2. You’ve got another opportunity to go out there against a good team, very good O-line — I give all the respect in the world to them, good quarterback — but it’s an opportunity. It’s an opportunity to fix what you felt like you didn’t do your best in Week 1, and you keep going.
“The season is all about progression. It’s September. You’ve got to just keep progressing. Now, if it’s constant, that’s different, but you’ve got to keep progressing and keep moving forward, and I think as a group we understand that’s what we’ve got to go do.” As Omenihu indicated, the margin for error shrinks with Jalen Hurts and the Eagles coming to GEHA Field at Arrowhead on Sunday. The Chiefs had a difficult time managing Herbert on the ground, and Hurts may be the best in the league in that department.
It’s possible the Chiefs will make lineup changes, such as inserting Kristian Fulton outside so that star cornerback Trent McDuffie sees more snaps defending the slot, but it hasn’t seemed they will go in that direction just yet. Rookie Ashton Gillotte managed to pressure Herbert once over just four pass-rush snaps, so he could be a player who sees more time on the field.
In general, though, wholesale lineup tweaks appear unlikely after just one game. And perhaps that is the right decision.
With the Chiefs staring down the prospects of a dreaded 0-2 start, time will tell.
“When we talked after the game in the locker room, I think our guys are great — we all felt like everybody took a turn making a mistake, myself included,” Spagnuolo said. “There’s about four or five calls I would like to have back. And I think every player to a man said the same thing. So if we can eliminate those, we’ll be better off.”
