Chiefs win 19-17 at home vs. Chargers

Jesse Newell, The Kansas City Star on Dec 8, 2024

Published in Football

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs lived their same charmed life Sunday night — while somehow finding a new ridiculous way to win one in the end.

This time, kicker Matthew Wright clinched the game with a 31-yard field goal that was anything but easy. Tailing left, the kick with no time left clanged off the left upright, but still ricocheted over the goalpost, giving Kansas City its latest heart-stopping, can’t-believe-it-happened victory.

This still was an important win to get: Not only did the Chiefs clinch the AFC West early with their 19-17 home triumph over the Los Angeles Chargers, but they also took a massive step toward locking up the conference’s No. 1 seed.

Kansas City was helped by the Los Angeles Rams, who defeated the Buffalo Bills, 44-42, earlier in the day.

That means the Chiefs, at 12-1, now have a two-game lead over the 10-3 Bills for the top spot with four games remaining. Making up a game Sunday was especially significant considering the Bills own the tiebreaker over the Chiefs thanks to their earlier head-to-head win.

As for Sunday night’s game, it seemingly resembled every Chiefs win from the last month or so.

1. Play decently well in the first half. The Chiefs did that in building a two-possession lead.

2. Blow that lead in the third quarter. That happened again when the Chargers answered with two quick touchdowns to rally back quickly after halftime.

3. Win after something weird happens late. This one didn’t disappoint, as the Chargers took a 17-16 fourth-quarter lead only to boot the ensuing kickoff short of the landing zone to give the Chiefs the ball on the 40.

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes — under heavy pressure all night — pulled out more of his magic at the end, completing an off-balance, third-and-10 pass to Xavier Worthy to extend the drive.

Then, when the Chiefs needed another big play late, Mahomes rolled right on third-and-7 and dodged a defender before finding tight end Travis Kelce for a 9-yard gain to the Chargers’ 11.

That set up the fill-in kicker Wright, who knocked (literally) through his field goal with no time left.

The Chiefs led 13-0 at halftime with early help from a strong defensive effort.

Kansas City held Los Angeles to six scoreless possessions before the break, which included five punts. The Chargers struggled to create separation with top receiver Ladd McConkey (shoulder and knee) sitting out because of injury, while also rushing eight times for 34 yards.

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert also misfired on his team’s best chance to score then, missing wideout Joshua Palmer on a deep route down the middle after he got Chiefs safety Bryan Cook to flip his hips the wrong direction.

Kansas City put together its best drive just before halftime.

While going no-huddle — the team had just 14 snaps of that setup all season, according to Sports Info Solutions — the Chiefs went 77 yards for a touchdown, with Mahomes finishing it off with a 9-yard pass to DeAndre Hopkins.

The Chiefs will play at the Cleveland Browns at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, Dec. 15.