Chargers’ Austin Ekeler says Chiefs made a point of denying him a milestone in finale
While the Chiefs entered the regular-season finale hoping to improve their playoff seeding, the Chargers had little to play for in the game.
But running back Austin Ekeler was trying for a personal achievement: 1,000 yards receiving.
Since the AFL-NFL merger, just four running backs have achieved that feat: Christian McCaffrey, Lionel James, Roger Craig and Marshall Faulk.
Ekeler had 950 yards when the Chargers faced the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium in December. He told NFL.com that quarterback Philip Rivers was trying to get Ekeler those 50 yards. The game stats bear that out: Ekeler was targeted 11 times and had nine catches.
However, he finished with 43 yards receiving, falling 7 yards short of his goal.
Ekeler told NFL.com’s Grant Gordon the Chiefs were doing all they could to deny him the milestone.
“We were playing the Chiefs the last game and Philip is just trying to get me the ball every which way,” Ekeler said. “They ended up taking out one of their D-linemen and bringing in another linebacker just to double-team me. They literally double-teamed me from the backfield. They would not let me get my 7 yards.”
With the Chargers’ season long over, Ekeler hoped for a bit of charity from the AFC West rival.
“At that point, shoot we already know we’re not going to the playoffs,” Ekeler said, “so, c’mon, give me 7 yards.”
It didn’t happen, despite Ekeler catches two passes on the Chargers’ final drive. He finished the game with 4.78 yards per reception, his season low in that category. And so the record book will forever show Ekeler had 993 receiving yards in the 2019 season thanks to the Chiefs.
The Chiefs beat the Chargers 31-21, grabbed the No. 2 seed inthe playoffs thanks to some help from Miami and went on to win the Super Bowl.
