The Kansas City Chiefs opened a difficult five-game stretch to close their season on the right foot, winning a 19-17 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 14’s “Sunday Night Football” matchup on GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. The victory clinched a ninth consecutive AFC West title for Kansas City as it continues its pursuit of an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl win.
First quarter
The Chargers won the opening coin toss, deferring the decision of possession to the second half. That gave Kansas City the ball to begin this game, starting from the 37-yard line after kick returner Samaje Perine gained 33 yards.
The Chiefs came out leaning on the ground game, handing off to running back Isiah Pacheco on three consecutive plays to initially move the chains. Then, tight end Travis Kelce found a window over the middle to cross midfield and set up Kansas City at the Chargers’ 40-yard line.
The run game gave the Chiefs another first down, but the offense could not advance from there. A downfield attempt to Kelce couldn’t be completed, then Mahomes was sacked on third down. That set up a field goal, giving the Chiefs an early 3-0 lead.
The defensive front of the Chiefs swarmed the Chargers to start the game: linebacker Leo Chenal stuffed a run, then defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton earned a sack. On third and long, Chargers’ quarterback Justin Herbert overcame the negative start by threading the needle to wide receiver Quentin Johnston for 21 yards. An additional 15 yards were rewarded for a penalty on linebacker Nick Bolton for unnecessary roughness.
From the Chiefs’ 40-yard line, the Chargers were set back with a holding penalty, and could not make the yardage back up. A third and long ended with Herbert scrambling short of the sticks, and Los Angeles was forced to punt from Kansas City territory.
From their own 16-yard line, the Chiefs worked out of the bad field position with a successful screen pass to running back Kareem Hunt. The offense could not advance from there, unable to keep the Chargers’ pass rush out of the pocket on two straight plays. Two incompletions led to a punt, boomed all the way to the Chargers’ two-yard line.
Even with the advantage of the Chargers backed up, the Chiefs’ defense was unable to hold up. A quick pass helped dig out of the hole, then a shot down the field on first down was easily completed for a 38-yard gain. That put the Chargers past midfield, at the Chiefs’ 49-yard line.
The Chiefs’ defense locked in and flew to the ball on the next few plays. A screen pass was blown up by safety Chamarri Conner for a three-yard loss, then cornerback Trent McDuffie finished tight coverage with a tackle that forced fourth down. The Chargers were forced to punt from opponent territory for the second time this game.
A quick pass to wide receiver Xavier Worthy started the Chiefs’ next drive, and led to the end of the first quarter.
Second quarter
Mahomes moved the chains with his feet to open the second quarter, but the Chiefs’ offense was bottled up from there. On third down, Mahomes needed four yards, but couldn’t come up with a way to do it as he moved towards the line of scrimmage and succombed to a sack. The Chiefs had to punt for the second consecutive drive.
The Chargers manufactured another big pass play to begin this drive, scheming wide receiver Joshua Palmer wide open down the middle of the field. Herbert’s throw was too far, and the Chiefs’ defense followed that up with a stop on third down. Cornerback Trent McDuffie blitzed and got a hand on the pass attempt, leading to a punt.
Looking for a big play to start this possession, the Chiefs used play action to give wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster room over the middle to catch and run for 26 yards. That set the offense up at the Chargers’ 29-yard line, but the next play ended in a sack by safety Derwin James.
Mahomes overcame the setback, targeting wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins on back-to-back plays to move the chains; the second pass resulted in a defensive penalty. That pushed the Chiefs into the red zone, but the team fell into third down; on the pass attempt, an open Worthy was missed because pressure from Mahomes’ blind side affected the throw.
The Chiefs settled for a short field goal, extending the lead to 6-0 with just under eight minutes remaining in the first half.
With an opportunity to take the lead with a touchdown, Los Angeles could not get anything going on offense. One short completion was stopped at the line of scrimmage by cornerback Joshua Williams, then another quick throw was dropped with McDuffie incoming. The Chiefs’ defense forced a quick three and out.
The Kansas City offense started backed up, even further after a false start was called on tight end Noah Gray. The unit worked to third and short, but failed to convert on an attempt down the field. Hopkins was the target, and was covered physically throughout the route.
On the Chargers’ next shot on offense, two incompletions were followed by a negated completion due to offensive holding. On the play, Herbert was hurt and went to the sideline before the third and long play. A scramble by backup quarterback Taylor Heinicke was short of the sticks.
The Chiefs worked the four-minute drill to third down immediately, but Mahomes converted by hanging in against pressure and finding Worthy running away from his defender across the shallow part of the field. A seven-yard run to the 44-yard line by Hunt followed, leading into the two-minute warning.
Mahomes found a rhythm in this late-half situation, throwing to Kelce and Gray to chip away at the Chargers’ defense. Once in the red zone, Mahomes went to Hopkins, who finished off a catch over the middle past the goal line. The touchdown gave the Chiefs a 13-0 lead with under 50 seconds in the half.
The Chargers gained some yards to work past midfield as the clock expired, running out of time before intermission.
Third quarter
Starting the second half with possession, the Chargers quickly worked past the 50-yard line with chunk gains and a defensive holding penalty on defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi. The Chiefs forced a third and short soon after, and safety Justin Reid made the solo tackle to stop the conversion attempt at the line.
The Chargers went for it on fourth down from the 40-yard line, and converted with a pass over the middle with pressure bearing down. Defensive tackle Chris Jones made up for it by blowing up a reverse attempt on the next play, forcing a six-yard loss. Jones looked to keep the ball rolling on second and long, but Herbert stepped up past his pressure and targeted Conner in coverage.
The 21-yard catch put the Chargers in prime scoring position at the 10-yard line. Two runs later, Los Angeles celebrated its first points of the game. The touchdown closed the Chiefs’ lead to 13-7.
The Chiefs’ offense went three and out on its first drive of the second half, once again neglecting the run game on a third and short. The rollout pass was disrupted, and an incompletion was followed by a punt.
Los Angeles looked to take advantage of the Chiefs’ vulnerabilities in deep coverage right away on the next possession. A downfield incompletion drew pass interference, then another big throw gained 24 yards to near the end zone. A few plays later, Herbert found Johnston in the end zone. The quick strike gave the Chargers a 14-13 lead.
The Chiefs went to the quick-passing game to march down the field against the Chargers’ defense, started by a strong run after catch from running back Samaje Perine. The Chiefs worked past midfield with quick catches by Kelce and Smith-Schuster. A seven-yard run by Pacheco set up third and short at the 42-yard line at the end of the third quarter.
Fourth quarter
Pacheco opened the fourth quarter by running hard through the box to convert third and short, then gaining six yards on the following play to near the red zone. However, right guard Trey Smith backed things up 15 yards by drawing a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct on the next snap.
Mahomes looked for Hopkins between defenders to convert the third and long, but the veteran could not hold on through a hard hit. The near completion set up a 50-yard field goal, successfully kicked to put the Chiefs back in front 16-14.
The Chargers’ chance to take the lead back was initially set back by Nick Bolton, who came through on a delayed blitz and earned a sack on first down. However, Herbert found an easy completion on second and long, and the receiver was able to get all the way to the sticks. The Chargers got two more chunk plays, the latter being a run that pushed past midfield and the first-down marker.
Los Angeles was forced into third down after Herbert escaped a sack on second down, still begin corralled after a short gain. The pass to convert was completed through Conner in coverage, and another completion over the middle soon after put the Chargers in the red zone.
The Chiefs stiffened up from there, highlighted by the second sack of the game from Tershawn Wharton. That forced the Chargers to kick a field goal, going in front 17-16 with under five minutes left.
Patrick Mahomes was given the reins on a potential game-winning drive, dropping back on the first three plays of the possession. The two initial passes fell incomplete, but he avoided pressure on third down to find Worthy over the middle for a crucial first down. Two plays later, he escaped the pocket and ran towards the sideline to move the chains with his feet.
From the Chargers’ 34-yard line, Worthy took a quick pass and gained five yards, then Pacheco pushed forward for four yards as the clock ticked below three minutes. The Chargers were forced to call a timeout leading into a third and short, and called another after Pacheco converted on a quick handoff.
The Chiefs handed off to Hunt on back-to-back plays, forcing the Chargers to take the final timeout. The two-minute warning hit with the Chiefs needing to convert third down from the 20-yard line.
Looking to move the chains and drain the clock with a fresh set of downs, Mahomes rolled right, avoided a tackle, and found Kelce in space to achieve the objective.
The Chiefs ran out the clock with kneeldowns by Mahomes, setting up kicker Matthew Wright to make a game-winning field goal from 30 yards away. He put it in off the left upright, putting a dramatic finish on Kansas City’s 19-17 victory that secured an AFC West title for the ninth-consecutive season.
Injuries
Cornerback Joshua Williams left the game in the fourth quarter. He went to the blue medical tent before heading to the locker room.
Left tackle D.J. Humphries stayed down on the field after a play in the fourth quarter. He was replaced by Wanya Morris. It was reported that Humphries tweaked his hamstring, and was ruled questionable to return.
Special Teams
Kicker Matthew Wright made a 47-yard field goal to cap off the Chiefs’ opening drive. In the second quarter, Wright converted a 33-yard kick. He made his first point-after attempt late in the first half.
In the fourth quarter, Wright made a 50-yard field goal to give the Chiefs the lead. With one second left, Wright kicked a 30-yard field goal, bouncing it off the left upright to win the game.
Punter Matt Araiza boomed his first punt 59 yards, downed by cornerback Nazeeh Johnson at the Chargers’ two-yard line. He had three other punts, one downed at the 17-yard line.
Punt returner Nikko Remigio gained nine yards on a punt return in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Remigio found room to gain 21 yards and set the offense up near midfield. In total, he fielded four punts.
Remigio gained 52 yards on kick returns, while Samaje Perine gained 33 yards on the opening return.
Statistics
CATEGORY LAC KC
Total Yards 288 298
Total Plays 57 65
Yards per play 5.1 4.6
Rushing Yards 94 96
Rush Attempts 24 25
Yards per rush 3.90 3.80
Passing Gross Yards 213 210
Sacks/Yards lost 3/19 3/8
Passing Net Yards 194 202
Comp/Att/Pct 21/30/70% 24/37/65%
Yards per pass 5.90 5.10
Interceptions thrown 0 0
Fumbles lost 0 0
Turnovers 0 0
Penalties/Yards 7/50 8/98
Total Drives 9 9
First downs 20 20
Rushing first downs 6 7
Passing first downs 11 11
Penalty first downs 3 2
Third down (Made/Att/Pct) 6/13/46% 8/15/53%
Fourth down (Made/Att/Pct) 1/1/100% 0/0/0%
Goal to go (Made/Att/Pct) 1/1/100% 1/1/100%
Red Zone (Made/Att/Pct) 2/3/67% 1/3/33%
Touchdowns 2 1
TDs/Rushing 1 0
TDs/Passing 1 1
TDs/Interception 0 0
TDs/Kickoff Return 0 0
TDs/Fumble Return 0 0
TDs/Punt Return 0 0
TDs/Defense/ST 0 0
Safeties 0 0
Extra Points (Made/Att) 2/2 1/1
Field Goals (Made/Att) 1/1 4/4
Two-Point Conv (Made/Att) 0/0 0/0
Kickoffs (Num/EZ/TB) 4/2/0 5/4/1
Punts (Num/Yds) 5/213 4/207
Gross Punting Avg Yds 42.6 51.8
Net Punting Avg Yds 35.8 51.8
Total Rtn Yds (No KOs) 0 34
Punt Returns (Num/Yds) 1/0 3/34
Kickoff Returns (Num/Yds) 4/106 3/85
Int Returns (Num/Yds) 0/0 0/0
Punts blocked 0 0
FGs/PATs Blocked 0/0 0/0
Timeouts (Rem/Used) 0/3 0/3
Time of Possession 30:53 29:07
Attendance – 73,571
CHIEFS PASSING C ATT YDS AVG TD LG INT SK SKYD RTG
Patrick Mahomes 24 37 210 5.7 1 26 0 3 8 88.8
TEAM 24 37 210 5.7 1 26 0 3 8 —
CHARGERS PASSING C ATT YDS AVG TD LG INT SK SKYD RTG
Justin Herbert 21 30 213 7.1 1 38 0 3 19 101.1
TEAM 21 30 213 7.1 1 38 0 3 19 —
CHIEFS RUSHING CAR YDS AVG TD LG
Isiah Pacheco 14 55 3.9 0 9
Kareem Hunt 5 16 3.2 0 7
Patrick Mahomes 4 17 4.3 0 10
Samaje Perine 1 3 3.0 0 3
Xavier Worthy 1 5 5.0 0 5
TEAM 25 96 3.8 0 10
CHARGERS RUSHING CAR YDS AVG TD LG
Gus Edwards 10 36 3.6 1 10
Kimani Vidal 8 34 4.3 0 8
Justin Herbert 4 12 3.0 0 7
Derius Davis 1 0 0.0 0 0
Taylor Heinicke 1 12 12.0 0 12
TEAM 24 94 3.9 1 12
CHIEFS RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD LG TGTS YAC
Xavier Worthy 5 41 8.2 0 14 6 24
Travis Kelce 5 45 9.0 0 13 6 14
Noah Gray 4 26 6.5 0 8 5 19
DeAndre Hopkins 4 32 8.0 1 10 9 10
Isiah Pacheco 2 6 3.0 0 6 4 12
JuJu Smith-Schuster 2 31 15.5 0 26 2 12
Kareem Hunt 1 13 13.0 0 13 1 16
Samaje Perine 1 16 16.0 0 16 2 17
Baylor Cupp 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
TEAM 24 210 8.8 1 26 36 124
CHARGERS RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD LG TGTS YAC
Joshua Palmer 6 78 13.0 0 38 9 11
Quentin Johnston 5 48 9.6 1 21 7 22
Stone Smartt 3 54 18.0 0 24 3 10
Will Dissly 2 19 9.5 0 15 2 16
Derius Davis 2 1 0.5 0 7 4 9
DJ Chark Jr. 1 9 9.0 0 9 1 5
Jalen Reagor 1 4 4.0 0 4 1 1
Tucker Fisk 1 0 0.0 0 0 1 0
Kimani Vidal 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
TEAM 21 213 10.1 1 38 29 74
CHIEFS FUMBLES FUM LOST FF REC
(OWN) TD REC
(OPP) TD
TEAM 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
CHARGERS FUMBLES FUM LOST FF REC
(OWN) TD REC
(OPP) TD
Derius Davis 1 0 0 1 0 0 0
TEAM 1 0 0 1 0 0 0
CHIEFS DEFENSE TOT SOLO ASST SACK YDS INT TFL PD QBH TD FF FR
Chamarri Conner 8 6 2 0.0 0.0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0
Drue Tranquill 7 4 3 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Nick Bolton 5 5 0 1.0 8.0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0
Joshua Williams 5 3 2 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Leo Chenal 5 2 3 0.0 0.0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
Mike Pennel 4 1 3 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Tershawn Wharton 3 3 0 2.0 11.0 0 2 0 3 0 0 0
Trent McDuffie 3 3 0 0.0 0.0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Justin Reid 3 2 1 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Bryan Cook 3 1 2 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mike Danna 3 1 2 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Chris Jones 2 2 0 0.0 0.0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
George Karlaftis 2 1 1 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Jaden Hicks 2 1 1 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Charles Omenihu 1 1 0 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
TEAM 56 36 20 3 19 0 6 2 7 0 0 0
CHARGERS DEFENSE TOT SOLO ASST SACK YDS INT TFL PD QBH TD FF FR
Daiyan Henley 8 6 2 0.0 0.0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Tarheeb Still 6 6 0 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Troy Dye 6 4 2 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Elijah Molden 5 3 2 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Otito Ogbonnia 5 2 3 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Kristian Fulton 4 3 1 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Cam Hart 3 3 0 0.0 0.0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
Poona Ford 3 2 1 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Marcus Maye 3 1 2 0.0 0.0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Derwin James Jr. 2 2 0 1.0 6.0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0
Bud Dupree 2 2 0 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Junior Colson 2 2 0 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Khalil Mack 2 1 1 0.5 1.0 0 0 1 4 0 0 0
Tuli Tuipulotu 2 1 1 0.5 1.0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Teair Tart 1 0 1 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Morgan Fox 1 1 0 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Joey Bosa 1 1 0 1.0 0.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Ja’Sir Taylor 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
TEAM 56 40 16 3 8 0 1 5 13 0 0 0
CHIEFS INT INT YDS AVG LG TD
TEAM 0 0 0 0 0
CHARGERS INT INT YDS AVG LG TD
TEAM 0 0 0 0 0
CHIEFS KICK RET NO YDS AVG LG TD
Samaje Perine 1 33 33.0 33 0
Nikko Remigio 2 52 26.0 27 0
TEAM 3 85 28.3 33 0
CHARGERS KICK RET NO YDS AVG LG TD
Derius Davis 4 106 26.5 37 0
TEAM 4 106 26.5 37 0
CHIEFS PUNT RET NO YDS AVG LG TD
Nikko Remigio 3 34 11.3 21 0
TEAM 3 34 11.3 21 0
CHARGERS PUNT RET NO YDS AVG LG TD
Derius Davis 1 0 0.0 0 0
TEAM 1 0 0.0 0 0
CHIEFS KICKING FGM/FGA PCT LONG XP PTS
Matthew Wright 4/4 100.0 50 1 13
TEAM 4/4 100.0 50 1 13
CHARGERS KICKING FGM/FGA PCT LONG XP PTS
Cameron Dicker 1/1 100.0 37 2 5
TEAM 1/1 100.0 37 2 5
CHIEFS PUNTING NO YDS AVG TB I20 LG
Matt Araiza 4 207 51.8 0 2 59
TEAM 4 207 51.0 0 2 59
CHARGERS PUNTING NO YDS AVG TB I20 LG
JK Scott 5 213 42.6 0 3 58
TEAM 5 213 42.0 0 3 58