The Kansas City Chiefs are rulers of the AFC West division for the ninth consecutive season. The Chiefs clinched the AFC West by defeating the Los Angeles Chargers, 19-17, when kicker Matt Wright sent in the game-winning kick off the left upright on Sunday Night Football.
This win is the 15th consecutive game the Chiefs have won by one possession, an NFL record. The game was mostly a defensive struggle from both sides, but it was Kansas City that got some late-game magic to set up for the walk-off kick. Kansas City improves to 12-1 on the season and now has a two-game advantage in the race for the 1 seed and home-field advantage in the postseason since Buffalo lost to the Los Angeles Rams earlier on Sunday afternoon.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes finished the contest by throwing 24/37 for 210 yards and a touchdown. Tight end Travis Kelce had five receptions for 45 yards and Xavier Worthy also had five catches for 41 yards, and DeAndre Hopkins finished with four catches for 32 yards and a score.
Neither offensive line did a good job at protecting their respective quarterbacks as the Chiefs and Chargers each registered three sacks apiece defensively. This made for a tight slugfest, but Kansas City jumped out to an early 6-0 lead until late in the second quarter.
After a three-yard run by running back Samaje Perine to convert 2nd and 2 with 56 seconds left at the Chargers’ nine-yard line. On the next play, Mahomes drops back and finds Hopkins for the nine-yard touchdown to jump out to a 13-0 lead. Los Angeles got the ball back with 42 seconds remaining in the first half but failed to get within field goal range before time expired after six plays of offense.
The Chargers offense opened up the scoring coming out of the locker room to begin the third quarter. After a short run by running back Gus Edwards, quarterback Justin Herbert completed a six-yard pass to Josh Palmer. On 3rd and 1, Herbert converted with a one-yard scramble to keep the chains moving. Five plays later, the Chargers converted on 4th and 2 when Herbert completed a deep pass to Palmer for a 15-yard pickup and a first down at the Chiefs’ 25-yard line.
After a six-yard loss on the following play, Los Angeles converted 2nd and 16 with another deep bomb from Herbert to tight end Stone Smartt for a 21-yard gain to the Kansas City 10-yard line. Two plays later, Gus Edwards pounds into the end zone for a three-yard rushing touchdown.
The Chargers got the ball back with 5:42 left in the third quarter after forcing the Chiefs offense off the field after just five plays. The possession began with a 39-yard gain off a pass inference foul on safety Justin Reid to set the Chargers up at the Chiefs’ 35-yard line.
On the next play, the Chargers moved into the red zone again after Herbert connected with Smartt for a 24-yard completion to the eleven-yard line. Three plays later, on 3rd and 3 with 3:36 in the third quarter, Herbert hit wide receiver Quentin Johnston for a four-yard touchdown to take a 14-13 lead late in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Chiefs responded with a methodical 15-play drive that settled for a 50-yard field to retake the lead. On the next possession, the Chargers responded with a long drive of their own before cashing in on a 37-yard field goal by Cameron Dicker.
With 3:36 left in the fourth quarter, Kansas City converted on 3rd and 10 with a 14-yard completion from Mahomes to Worthy.
After a short run by Isiah Pacheco, Mahomes converted 2nd and 8 with a 10-yard scramble to the Chargers’ 34-yard line. Five plays later, Mahomes converted 3rd and 7 with a nine-yard pass to Kelce for the first down at the 11-yard line.
After two Kansas City kneel-downs to drain the clock to a second left in the game, the Chiefs set up Matt Wright for the walk-off field goal. At the snap, Wright’s kick drifted to the left, hitting the left upright and deflecting through the goalpost to win the game for Kansas City.
