It is way-too-early to describe it as a changing of the guard in the AFC West, but Sunday afternoon’s victory by the Los Angeles Chargers over the Kansas City Chiefs was notable for the fashion in which it occurred. Throughout a warm and windy day at Arrowhead Stadium, the Chargers were the better team, with quarterback Justin Herbert throwing for four touchdowns and 281 yards, while the explosive Chiefs offense turned over the football four times, as Kansas City fell to the basement of the division with a 1-2 record.
While the start is not expected to be crippling for the Chiefs, it should be noted that the AFC West appears to be one of the strongest divisions in the NFL, as Denver and Las Vegas have both started the season 3-0, with Los Angeles just a close loss to Dallas away from a 3-0 start, leaving Kansas City’s five remaining divisional matchups critical in the team’s hopes of a sixth straight AFC West title.
With Sunday’s game tied at 24, and less than a minute left, Chargers coach Brandon Staley passed on allowing a 48-yard field goal attempt from Tristan Vizcaino, instead putting the ball in Herbert’s hands. The 4th down try resulted in pass interference by DeAndre Baker of the Chiefs, giving Los Angeles a 1st down and a few plays later, on a connection to Mike Williams, the go-ahead touchdown with 32 seconds remaining.
Going by the numbers, Kansas City appeared to have a decent day offensively, but two interceptions thrown by Mahomes and two fumbles lost by the offense made building momentum difficult. Trailing 14-0 in the first half, Kansas City did find mid-game rhythm to rally to a 24-21 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
Austin Ekeler and Keenan Allen had touchdown receptions for the Chargers, with Mahomes throwing for 260 yards and three touchdowns for the Chiefs. Clyde Edwards-Helaire ran for 100 yards and had a touchdown catch for Kansas City, but lost a key fumble for the second consecutive week.
Mahomes admitted his team’s disappointment following the loss, saying “Nobody is happy with the way we played. You take a loss to a division opponent, it’s not a good thing. We haven’t done a lot of that in my time here. It’s how you respond. We have a long season ahead of us.”
Kansas City returns to Andy Reid’s old stomping grounds of Philadelphia to play the Eagles on Sunday.
Coach Reid dealt with additional misfortune after the loss to Los Angeles, with the unseasonably hot weather in Kansas City playing a factor in the Chiefs coach being taken by ambulance to University of Kansas Health System battling symptoms of dehydration. The 63-year old was released from the hospital on Monday afternoon, said to be feeling much better, and is expected to be on the sidelines in Philadelphia next weekend.
Other NFL scores from Week #2 of the season were:
Thursday, 9/23/21:
Carolina 24, Houston 9
Sunday, 9/26/21:
Buffalo 43, Washington 21
Cleveland 26, Chicago 6
Tennessee 25, Indianapolis 16
Atlanta 17, NY Giants 14
Cincinnati 24, Pittsburgh 10
Baltimore 19, Detroit 17
New Orleans 28, New England 13
Arizona 31, Jacksonville 19
Denver 26, NY Jets 0
Las Vegas 31, Miami 28 (OT)
Minnesota 30, Seattle 17
LA Rams 34, Tampa Bay 24
Green Bay 30, San Francisco 28
Monday, 9/27/21:
Dallas 41, Philadelphia 21
