The Kansas City Chiefs are your AFC West winners for the ninth straight season as they defeated their division foe, the Los Angeles Chargers, with a game-winning field goal.
The 19-17 win moved the Chiefs to 12-1 on the season, which was a big win to not only claim the division, but also create separation from the Buffalo Bills for the No. 1 seed in the AFC. In the meantime, the chargers are now 8-5 on the season as they continue to search for a playoff spot with four games now remaining.
This low-scoring affair set up a long drive from Justin Herbert and the Chargers offense that ate up 8:29 of the fourth quarter clock, but it resulted in a field goal to make it 17-16.
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Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins (8) celebrates after scoring against the Los Angeles Chargers during the first half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. (Denny Medley-Imagn images)
There was more than enough time for that Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense to respond, and as we’ve seen too many times to count, that’s exactly what happened at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
On 3rd and 10 on the ensuing drive, Mahomes escaped Chargers pressure and found his rookie receiver Xavier Worthy for a 14-yard strike, where he got back to the ball and secured it to extend the drive.
A Mahomes scramble and a pair of runs from Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt would continue to add yards and clock as the Chiefs moved closer to the end zone for kicker Matthew Wright, who was perfect with three field goals, including a 50-yarder, before hitting steps into the game winner.
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On 3rd and 7 from the Chargers’ 20-yard line, it was imperative that Los Angeles stop the Chiefs from forcing the field goal and giving Herbert another chance to get a game-winning drive of his own.
But Mahomes’ magic happened again when he rolled outside the pocket, missed a tackler and threw the ball to Travis Kelce for the first down.
This allowed the Chiefs to turn back the clock to the end of the fourth quarter, where Wright hit the ball off the left upright from 31 yards out, but the ball was in just enough to stay true for three points and the win.
“Doink for the division!” NBC play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico shouted from the broadcast booth.
It took a while for anyone to find the end zone in this game, but it finally happened just before halftime when DeAndre Hopkins caught a short pass from Mahomes to bring the score to nine yards to make it 13-0.
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) hands the lead to running back Gus Edwards (4) during the first half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium against the Kansas City Chiefs. (Denny Medley-Imagn images)
The Chargers, playing without Herbert’s faithful rookie Ladd McConkey, failed to get going with five straight punts in the first half.
However, they turned it around in the second half with back-to-back touchdown drives to make it a true AFC West battle.
First, it was the opening drive of the second half, when Herbert dissected the Chiefs defense for 13 plays, with Gus Edwards, who took over the starting role with an injured JK Dobbins, scoring from three yards out.
Then, after forcing a three-and-out on the Chiefs, Herbert needed just four plays to finally find Quentin Johnston for the four-yard score and take a 14-13 lead.
But when Mahomes and the Chiefs have the ball in their hands at the end of a close game this season, it just hasn’t worked out for the opposing team.
Mahomes went 24-of-37 for 210 yards with his lone touchdown pass while rushing for 17 yards in the win. Pacheco, who has played a bigger role as he recovers from injury.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) drops back to pass against the Los Angeles Chargers during the first half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. (Denny Medley-Imagn images)
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Kelce had the most yards of a Chiefs player with 45, while Worthy finished with 41 and Hopkins with 32.
For the Chargers, Josh Palmer had a game-high 78 yards on six receptions, while tight end Stone Smartt, who saw an expanded role when Will Dissly hurt during the game, had 54 yards on three catches. Johnston also finished with 48 yards on five receptions.
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