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“Justin was phenomenal today in every way,” Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh said. “Pinpoint accuracy. He did a great job with his legs. Just overall toughness. Just a complete stalwart. It was incredible quarterback play.”
Quentin Johnston had five receptions for 79 yards and two touchdowns and Keenan Allen had seven receptions for 68 yards and a scoring catch. Herbert was 25-of-34 passing and also rushed for 32 yards.
Patrick Mahomes completed 24 of 39 passes for 258 yards and one touchdown for the defending AFC champion Chiefs. Mahomes also led Kansas City with 57 rushing yards, while Travis Kelce hauled in a touchdown pass.
The Chiefs were hoping for one last chance but Herbert scrambled for 19 yards on third-and-14 just before the two-minute warning. That allowed the Chargers to run out the clock on kneeldowns.
With the win, the Chargers snapped a seven-game slide against the Chiefs.
“It was just another game for us,” Herbert said afterward in a YouTube on-field interview. “We came out here and executed and did what we needed to do. … We have a lot of respect for them. We knew it would be a dogfight.”
Los Angeles had a 394-347 edge in total offense over Kansas City, which lost receiver Xavier Worthy (right shoulder) on the third offensive play.
The Chiefs finally scored a touchdown on Mahomes’ 11-yard run with 8:05 left in the third quarter to pull within 13-12. But Harrison Butker was wide right on the extra point.
“We can learn from this,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said. “Moving forward, I have to make sure I get my team in a better state coming out and playing with more emotion. … There were some good things but we have to make sure we take care of business and that’s my responsibility.”
The Chargers pushed their lead to eight when Herbert hit Allen on an 11-yard scoring pass with 32 seconds left in the period.
Kansas City answered early in the fourth quarter when Mahomes hit a wide-open Kelce at the 25-yard line and the latter completed the 37-yard scoring pass to bring the Chiefs within 20-18. The ensuing two-point conversion failed when Teair Tart swatted away Mahomes’ throw with his left hand.
The Chargers then moved 74 yards on 11 plays with Herbert tossing a 23-yard touchdown pass to Johnston to make it a 27-18 lead with 5:02 left.
Butker’s 27-yard field goal pulled the Chiefs within six with 2:34 to play.
The Chargers scored the game’s first 10 points. Herbert threw a 5-yard scoring pass to Johnston to cap the team’s first drive and Cameron Dicker kicked a 39-yard field goal with 13:47 left in the first half.
Kansas City got on the board on Butker’s 35-yard field goal with 4:50 left. The 16-play drive included two fourth-down conversions.
“I think in general they came out with more energy than we did,” said Mahomes. “We didn’t execute. I missed some throws down the field and obviously we didn’t play good enough in the first half.”
Dicker booted a 36-yard field goal to give the Chargers a 13-3 lead with 45 seconds left in the half. However, rookie Omarion Hampton ran out of bounds on the previous play instead of sliding down inbounds and that cost his team three points.
Kansas City was able to put together a five-play drive and the field-goal unit scrambled on in the final seconds and Butker kicked a 59-yard field goal to end the half and cut the Los Angeles lead to 13-6.
–Field Level Media
