‘It all feels very similar.’ Chargers players sound off on latest loss to the Chiefs
Chargers running back Joshua Kelley has seen this movie before, and he doesn’t like it.
The Chiefs beat the Chargers 31-17 on Sunday at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. It was the fourth straight Chiefs’ victory over LA, and they’ve won seven of the last nine in the series and 16 of the previous 19.
Not that Kelley has been with the Chargers for all those defeats, but he’s seen plenty.
“I have been here for four years and losing to them (Chiefs) is never a good thing,” Kelley told reporters after the game. “It just sucks because it all feels very similar. It all plays out very similar. That’s the most frustrating part.
“I feel like we haven’t been able to stop 15 or 87 since I’ve been here. It’s tough, but I feel like there are some plays we should have made that could help us win that game.”
Kelley didn’t mention them by name, but he was talking about Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who threw for 424 yards and four touchdowns, and tight end Travis Kelce, who had 179 receiving yards.
Kelley wasn’t alone in being frustrated by another loss to the Chiefs and the strong play of KC’s star players.
Safety Derwin James was asked if he felt disrespected because Kelce and Mahomes played so well.
“Hell yeah, I feel disrespected,” James told reporters. “Because the gameplan is to take those guys away. We know who the best players are: Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes. We got to take them out of the game. We didn’t get that done today on defense.”
Chargers coach Brandon Staley was asked about facing Mahomes.
“He has a lot of experience. He is an outstanding player, and he has great chemistry with his receiving core and his O-line,” Staley said. “I think the O-line is really underrated. They did a good job on us today. You give credit to him. He had a good game; you know him and Travis. We will get them again at the end of the year.”
The Chiefs and Chargers will next play in the 2023 season final on Jan. 7 at SoFi Stadium.
The Chargers fell to 2-4 on the season, but James believes there is still plenty of time to turn the ship around. He noted the last two losses were to the Chiefs and Cowboys.
“These last six games, we just need to flush them,” James said. “We have 11 more to go. We have a long season. We’ve just got to keep playing hard. Right now, it looks bad. We’re still believing in each other.
“We lost two tough games to two bad-ass teams that are going to be in the playoffs. We just got to keep playing hard and keep leaning on each other.”
This story was originally published October 23, 2023 at 11:38 AM.
