The Kansas City Chiefs are AFC West champions for the ninth straight season, beating the division rival Los Angeles Chargers with a game-winning field goal.
The 19-17 victory moved the Chiefs to 12-1 on the season, a huge win that not only won the division but also split time with the Buffalo Bills for the No. 1 seed in the AFC. The Chargers, meanwhile, are 8-5 on the season and continue their search for a playoff spot with four games remaining.
In this low-scoring game, Justin Herbert’s long drive and the Chargers’ offense used up 8:29 of the fourth quarter before finally making a field goal to make it 17 -16.
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Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins (8) celebrates after a first-half goal against the Los Angeles Chargers at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. (Danny Medley – Image)
Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense have plenty of time to react, and we’ve seen it too many times, which is exactly what happened at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
On the ensuing drive on 3rd-and-10, Mahomes escaped Chargers pressure and found his rookie receiver Xavier Worthy for a 14-yard field goal, who returned the ball and Pin it to extend the breakout.
Mahomes’ scramble and several runs from Isaiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt will continue to disrupt the yardage and clock as the Chiefs get closer to kicker Matthew Wright’s In the end zone, he made three perfect field goals, including a 50-yarder.
Chiefs’ Travis Kelce on lack of goals this season: ‘It’s frustrating’
On third-and-7 from the Chargers’ 20-yard line, Los Angeles had to stop the Chiefs from forcing a field goal and give Herbert another chance at the game-winning drive.
But Mahomes’ magic worked again as he rolled out of the pocket, forced the tackler to fumble, and then threw the ball to Travis Kelce for the first down.
That allowed the Chiefs to run the clock late in the fourth quarter, when Wright hit the ball off the left upright from 31 yards out, but the ball landed inside just enough to preserve the three points and win.
“Go for the division!” NBC play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico shouted from the broadcast room.
It took a while to find the end zone in this game, but it finally happened at halftime when DeAndre Hopkins caught a short pass from Mahomes and took it nine yards. , rewriting the score to 13-0.
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) hands the ball to running back Gus Edwards during the first half against the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium , 4 years old). (Danny Medley – Image)
The Chargers had to play without Herbert’s trusted rookie Ladd McConkey and were unable to continue the game on five consecutive punts in the first half.
However, they turned the game around with back-to-back touchdowns in the second half, making this game a true AFC West game.
First, it was the start of the second half, with Herbert dissecting the Chiefs defense on 13 plays and Gus Edwards taking over the starting job with JK Dobbins injured, Scored from three yards out.
Then, after forcing the Chiefs into a three-and-out, Herbert needed just four plays to find Quentin Johnston for a four-yard score to make it 14-13.
But when Mahomes and the Chiefs had the ball at the end of a close game this season, the opposition failed to make a difference.
Mahomes went 24-for-37 passing for 210 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 17 yards in the victory. Pacheco has played more of a starring role since returning from injury.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) drops back to pass during the first half against the Los Angeles Chargers at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. (Danny Medley – Image)
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Kelce led any Chiefs player with 45 yards, while Worthy finished with 41 yards and Hopkins finished with 32 yards.
For the Chargers, Josh Palmer had six catches for a game-high 78 yards, while tight end Stone Smartt had a 6-yard touchdown pass from Will Dissly. ) played an even bigger role despite the injury, catching 3 catches for 54 yards. Johnston also had 48 yards on five catches.
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