The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Los Angeles Chargers 19-17 on a last-second field goal to clinch the AFC West Divisional Title.
The Chiefs took the opening kickoff and drove 34 yards down the field to the Chargers’ 27 yard line thanks in part to a 12-yard reception from tight end Travis Kelce. However, quarterback Patrick Mahomes was sacked for a two-yard loss on 3rd and 10, so KC had to settle for a 47-yard field goal to go up 3-0.
The Chargers moved the ball effectively on their first possession but punted it back to Kansas City because the drive stalled outside of field goal range. It was on the third down play before the punt that Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert came up grimacing after taking a funny-looking tackle around his feet. Herbert then had his ankle taped up during the TV timeout after testing by team doctors.
KC wouldn’t do much with the ball, but they took a lead in the field position battle when they downed a Matt Araiza punt close to the end zone, forcing the Chargers to start their next possession at their own two yard line.
The Chargers would not be phased, though. After converting a 3rd and short at their own 11 yard line, the taped-up Justin Herbert hit Josh Palmer deep for a 38-yard pass to set them up near the 50 yard line. The drive wouldn’t go much further, and LA punted back to the Chiefs with the score stuck at 3-0.
There would be many more punts, keeping it a 3-0 game, but a consistent theme was the Chargers’ pass rushers, who sacked Mahomes three times on the Chiefs’ first four drives.
joooeeeeeyy
📺 | @snfonnbc pic.twitter.com/hT2yA7wW3J
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) December 9, 2024
Kansas City got on the board again in the second quarter. Juju Smith-Schuster started the drive with a 26-yard reception that set KC up at the Chargers’ 29 yard line. Things looked bad after that because Mahomes was sacked, but they still made it down to LA’s 15 thanks to a drive-extending defensive holding call on a 3rd and 6. That’s as far as they would get, settling for a field goal and the 6-0 lead.
With a little less than four and a half minutes left in the half, things became much worse for Justin Herbert. He took a big shot to his thigh from KC linebacker Nick Bolton. As Herbert lay on the field holding his leg and writhing in pain, backup quarterback Taylor Heinicke took warm-up snaps. He stayed on the sideline and jogged around only to go back in on the next LA drive.
Fast-forward to the 3:28 mark of the second quarter, when Kansas City took over on their own 23. Mahomes led the Chiefs on an 11-play, 62-yard drive capped off by a nine-yard touchdown from DeAndre Hopkins who was able to fall backward into the end zone to give KC a 13-0 lead.
Los Angeles got the ball back with 42 seconds to go in the half, but they weren’t able to do much due to some questionable clock management decisions. The drive ended when time ran out after Justin Herbert completed a 15-yard pass to tight end Will Dissly, so the Chargers had to go into halftime with a 13-0 deficit.
LA started the second half with the ball and made the most of it. Once Los Angeles reached the Chiefs’ side of the field, Justin Herbert completed passes of 15 and 21 yards to Josh Palmer and Stone Smartt, giving them the ball at KC’s 10. Two plays later, the Chargers reached the end zone via a three-yard touchdown run from Gus Edwards, and the lead was cut to 13-7.
The Chiefs would only run five plays on their next drive before punting the ball back to Los Angeles.
Los Angeles moved the ball quickly on this drive with a 39-yard defensive pass interference penalty followed by a 24-yard completion to Stone Smartt. That set up the Chargers at Kansas City’s 11. A Gus Edwards seven-yard rush led to a 3rd and 3 from KC’s four yard line. With stellar pass protection, Justin Herbert was able to find Quentin Johnston across the back of the end zone for a four-yard touchdown. Following the extra point, LA had the 14-13 lead.
The @Chiefs win the AFC West for the 9th straight season! pic.twitter.com/lBIH75d4el
— NFL (@NFL) December 9, 2024
After that drive, Kansas City answered right back. Following an interception that was wiped off the board by an offsides penalty, Mahomes completed a 16-yard pass to Samaje Perine, a seven-yarder to Travis Kelce, and a five-yarder to Smith-Schuster. KC would then ram the ball down LA’s throats with three straight runs before the drive was derailed by an unnecessary roughness penalty for headbutting by offensive lineman Trey Smith. On 3rd and 16 from the 32, LA defensive back Cam Hart jarred the ball loose from DeAndre Hopkins’ hands as he was trying to make a catch, resulting in a crucial incompletion. That caused the drive to end in a field goal and a 16-14 KC lead.
Once the Chargers got the ball back, they completed a 20-yard pass to Quentin Johnston immediately after a sack. A few plays later, Justin Herbert hit Josh Palmer over the middle for an eight-yard completion on 3rd and 7 to get the ball to KC’s 31. The Chargers would get as close as the Kansas City 17 yard line, but Justin Herbert took a sack on second down, which forced them to run it on 3rd and long. That led to another field goal and a 17-16 Chargers lead.
Now, is when Kansas City shines. It also helps that KC was gifted an extra ten yards because of a kickoff penalty. On a 3rd and 10 from KC’s 40, Patrick Mahomes avoided a pass rusher, stepped up, and hit Xavier Worthy for a 14-yard reception and a fresh set of downs. Two plays after that, Mahomes scrambled for another ten yards and a first down at LA’s 44. Runs of five, four, and two yards allowed KC to set up shop at the 23 yard line with 2:32 to go in the game. This pushed the Chargers to start burning timeouts. The Chargers used their final timeout with 2:26 to go in the game, so they needed to make a stop if they wanted to win or get a chance to get the ball back. A couple of runs later, KC again found themselves in a 3rd down situation with 2:00 left in the game. Of course, Mahomes completed a check-down pass to Travis Kelce for the first down, allowing KC to drain the clock. With one second left in the game, Chiefs kicker Matt Wright kicked the 31-yard field goal attempt and miraculously doinked it off the left upright through the back of the netting to give Kansas City the 19-17 victory and the AFC West Championship.
