Following a 31-21 victory over Phillip Rivers and the Los Angeles Chargers, Head Coach Andy Reid said it best.
“Hail to the Dolphins!”
Kansas City’s win over L.A. coupled with New England’s upset loss to Miami results in the Chiefs and Patriots swapping places in the postseason bracket.
As the 3-seed, the Patriots will now be preparing to take on a red hot Tennessee Titans team in Foxborough next weekend. Meanwhile, Kansas City will be kicking their feet up during wildcard weekend with the first-round bye.
Reid threw high praises to his team for their performance today, one of which was running back Damien Williams.
Williams has been battling injuries for most of the season but he was able to display his speed and big-play ability when he’s healthy.
In the third quarter, he spun out of a tackle and ran 84 yards down the sideline to score a touchdown to put his team up 24-14. Williams finished today’s game with 124 yards on 12 carries and scored two rushing touchdowns.
The Chargers offense did their best to keep Mahomes and the Chiefs offense on the bench but it wasn’t enough to prevent them from scoring off of huge chunk plays.
In the second quarter, Mahomes completed a 30-yard pass to Mecole Hardman to convert on third down and threw a 24-yard strike to Demarcus Robinson for the touchdown on the following play.
Later in the third quarter, following running back Melvin Gordon’s five-yard touchdown run to put the Chargers up 14-10, Kansas City re-took the lead on the ensuing kickoff.
Pro bowl return-man Mecole Hardman returned the kick from four yards deep in his own endzone all the way to the house on a 104-yard return for the score.
Finally, in the fourth, Mahomes converted another third down by connecting with Tyreek Hill on a fly pattern for a 47-yard gain. Five plays later, the Chiefs offense capped off the drive with Damien Williams scoring his second rushing touchdown of the game.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes was kept under 200 yards passing, credit to the Charger defense, but he completed 16-of-25 passes for 174 yards, a touchdown and he threw an interception.
On the defensive side of the ball, Kansas City had their hands full.
The Chargers did a better job utilizing their running backs out of the backfield since they last faced them over a month ago in Mexico City.
Runners Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler both ran for 46 yards each and Gordon registered a touchdown on the ground. Both players were also a huge factor in the passing game that the Chiefs struggled to cover on multiple occasions.
Gordon made six catches for 76 yards while Ekeler caught nine passes for 43 yards.
Receiver Keenan Allen also had a big day receiving with nine receptions for 82 yards and a 12-yard touchdown he scored early in the first.
Tight end Hunter Henry also had a nice game with five catches for 42 yards and a touchdown.
Despite L.A.’s best efforts offensively, the Chiefs defense did a great job of refusing to break and swarmed around the ball carrier on every play.
Kansas City managed to bring the pressure on Phillip Rivers and he was brought down by three different Kansas City defenders. Defensive linemen Chris Jones and Terrell Suggs as well as linebacker Reggie Ragland each registered a sack on Rivers.
Rivers finished today’s game completing 31-of-46 passes for 281 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions in what might be his last game as the Chargers quarterback.
The interception he threw to safety Daniel Sorensen was the final nail in the Chargers coffin as the Chiefs take the 31-21 win and the first-round bye entering the postseason.
