On Thursday, September 15th, the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Los Angeles Chargers 27-24 on Thursday Night Football.
The Chiefs improve to 2-0, while the Chargers fall to 1-1. The game wasn’t the only loss for LA, as their quarterback, Justin Herbert, suffered a fractured rib in the loss.
Herbert and the Chargers were up for the majority of the game, including a 17-7 lead in the third quarter, until the fourth quarter, when the Chiefs gained the lead and ultimately ended up winning the game by playing their best football of the night in the final quarter of regulation.
The Chargers ultimately lost this game because of the poor coaching on the offensive side of the ball, specifically with the offensive play-calling of Joe Lombardi. While having arguably one of the best running backs in football in Austin Ekeler, who was 12th in rushing yards a season ago, the Chargers only handed him the ball 14 times while at the same time overloading their young quarterback in Justin Herbert with 48 pass attempts which eventually led to a fractured rib for Herbert.
The Chargers also have a top 10 offensive line in this league which played a massive role in Ekeler’s performance a season ago. Therefore, the Chargers should have looked to put more of an emphasis on the running back, which would, in turn, open up the field for the passing offense while also putting less pressure on your quarterback. Football is a team game; you must use all your tools to your advantage and not simply use one tool while completely ignoring the rest.
While in obvious pain during the team’s final offensive drive of the contest, Herbert stayed in the game and was still able to lead his team down the field and throw a touchdown to make it a 27-24 game. Herbert did an excellent job all night long, finishing the game with 334 yards and three touchdowns, but did throw a costly pick-six from the red zone.
As for the Chiefs. “Mahomes Magic” was in full effect as the Super Bowl Champion QB finished with 235 yards and two touchdowns; one to wide receiver Justin Watson and the other to running back Jerick McKinnon.
Both defenses were on point from start to finish, especially the Chargers unit, which filled itself with more elite talent in the offseason, with the Chargers debut of star cornerback J.C. Jackson as well as a tremendous job done by the pass rushing department led by multiple pro bowl players in long-time Charger Joey Bosa and newcomer Khalil Mack.
The Chiefs will look to keep their winning streak alive as they head into Indianapolis next week to face off against Jonathan Taylor and the Colts; In contrast, the Chargers will look to get back into the winning column in a week three home matchup versus the Doug Pederson led Jacksonville Jaguars.
Now we wait and see if Herbert will be able to go right away or if he will miss some time due to his fractured rib.
Let us know what you think about the Chiefs comeback win against the Chargers by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sending us a tweet at @celebsecrets.
