Kansas City’s defense made timely plays, including a 99-yard interception returned for a touchdown, to overcome a sputtering offense, as the Chiefs defeated the Los Angeles Chargers 27-24 on Thursday Night Football.
Patrick Mahomes threw for 235 yards and two touchdowns, but Kansas City was held in check offensively for most of their home opener. Los Angeles’s defense gave them ample opportunities to run away with the contest, but LA couldn’t ever get away from the Chiefs, despite leading 10-0 early.
Rookie Defensive Back Jaylen Watson turned the tide for the Chiefs with just over 10 minutes to go, after the Chargers had driven the ball down to the Kansas City three yard line, but an out route from Quarterback Justin Herbert was off-target for Gerald Everett. Watson jumped the route and took it 99 yards the opposite direction, giving KC their first lead of the game, and they would never relinquish it.
The Chiefs are now 2-0 on the young season, but are now the only undefeated team in the ultra-competitive AFC West, as Los Angeles falls to 1-1 and Denver and Las Vegas are each sitting at 0-1 following week one.
Kansas City will get 10 days to rest and recover before heading on the road to Indianapolis in their week three tussle.
Score By Quarter
LAC – 3 – 7 – 7 – 7 / 24
KC – 0 – 7 – 7 – 13 / 27
Scoring
1st – LAC D.Hopkins 31 yd. Field Goal (LAC 3, KC 0)
2nd – LAC Z.Horvath 1 yd. pass from J.Herbert (D.Hopkins kick) (LAC 10, KC 0)
2nd – KC J.McKinnon 9 yd. pass from P.Mahomes (M.Ammendola kick) (LAC 10, KC 7)
3rd – LAC M.Williams 15 yd. pass from J.Herbert (D.Hopkins kick) (LAC 17, KC 7)
3rd – KC Ju.Watson 41 yd. pass from P.Mahomes (M.Ammendola kick) (LAC 17, KC 14)
4th – KC M.Ammendola 19 yd. Field Goal (LAC 17, KC 17)
4th – KC Ja.Watson 99 yd. interception return (M.Ammendola kick) (KC 24, LAC 17)
4th – KC M.Ammendola 31 yd. Field Goal (KC 27, LAC 17)
4th – LAC J.Palmer 7 yd. pass from J.Herbert (D.Hopkins kick) (KC 27, LAC 24)
BOX SCORE
Kansas City Passing
| C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | SACKS | QBR | RTG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patrick Mahomes | 24/35 | 235 | 6.7 | 2 | 0 | 1-9 | 66.9 | 106.2 |
| TEAM | 24/35 | 226 | 6.7 | 2 | 0 | 1-9 | — | 106.2 |
Los Angeles Passing
| C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | SACKS | QBR | RTG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justin Herbert | 33/48 | 334 | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 2-8 | 63.8 | 100.5 |
| TEAM | 33/48 | 326 | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 2-8 | — | 100.5 |
Kansas City Rushing
| CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clyde Edwards-Helaire | 8 | 74 | 9.3 | 0 | 52 |
| Jerick McKinnon | 4 | 12 | 3.0 | 0 | 5 |
| Michael Burton | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 0 | 6 |
| Isiah Pacheco | 2 | 6 | 3.0 | 0 | 6 |
| Patrick Mahomes | 2 | -1 | -0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Mecole Hardman | 1 | -4 | -4.0 | 0 | -4 |
| TEAM | 18 | 93 | 5.2 | 0 | 52 |
Los Angeles Rushing
| CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin Ekeler | 14 | 39 | 2.8 | 0 | 8 |
| Joshua Kelley | 4 | 22 | 5.5 | 0 | 8 |
| Sony Michel | 4 | 13 | 3.3 | 0 | 7 |
| Justin Herbert | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 2 |
| TEAM | 24 | 75 | 3.1 | 0 | 8 |
Kansas City Receiving
| REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | TGTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travis Kelce | 5 | 51 | 10.2 | 0 | 19 | 7 |
| Justin Watson | 2 | 50 | 25.0 | 1 | 41 | 2 |
| Mecole Hardman | 3 | 49 | 16.3 | 0 | 30 | 4 |
| Clyde Edwards-Helaire | 4 | 44 | 11.0 | 0 | 21 | 4 |
| Marquez Valdes-Scantling | 2 | 13 | 6.5 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Noah Gray | 2 | 12 | 6.0 | 0 | 11 | 3 |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster | 3 | 10 | 3.3 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
| Jerick McKinnon | 2 | 4 | 2.0 | 1 | 9 | 2 |
| Michael Burton | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Jody Fortson | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| TEAM | 24 | 235 | 9.8 | 2 | 41 | 34 |
Los Angeles Receiving
| REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | TGTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Williams | 8 | 113 | 14.1 | 1 | 39 | 10 |
| Gerald Everett | 6 | 71 | 11.8 | 0 | 26 | 10 |
| DeAndre Carter | 3 | 55 | 18.3 | 0 | 35 | 3 |
| Austin Ekeler | 9 | 55 | 6.1 | 0 | 21 | 10 |
| Joshua Palmer | 4 | 30 | 7.5 | 1 | 10 | 8 |
| Sony Michel | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| Joshua Kelley | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| Zander Horvath | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| TEAM | 33 | 334 | 10.1 | 3 | 39 | 46 |
