Monday Night Football Live in Mexico City – Kansas City 24, L.A. Chargers 17

Kansas City Chiefs 24

at

Los Angeles Chargers 17

From Mexico City





Kansas City 24, L.A. Chargers 17  

Last year, these two teams both finished the regular season with identical 12-4 records, although the Chiefs won the division, and home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs, by virtue of the tiebreaker. However, both teams wound up losing to the eventual Super Bowl champion New England Patriots.              

Entering this year, both teams had serious title hopes. But both teams have struggled at times. That is particularly true for the Chargers, who entered last night’s game with a 4-6 record, and were already teetering on the edge of irrelevance.              

Meanwhile, the Chiefs had started off the season the way many had predicted, racing off to a perfect 4-0 start. But they suddenly slowed down after that, losing four out of five games, and losing sole possession of first place in the AFC West. Entering last night’s game, they were tied with the Raiders atop the division standings.              

The Chargers got off to a decent start, while the Chiefs seemed to get off to a sluggish start. The Chiefs finally began to find their rhythm in the second quarter, and looked like a well-oiled machine at times in the third quarter. But it was the KC defense that proved to be especially strong when it mattered the most, bending but not breaking, and holding the Chargers to a mere 17 points on a night when they looked very productive. The Chiefs managed to intercept Rivers four times.  

Patrick Mahomes completed 19 of 32 passes for 182 yards, with one touchdown and one INT. Mahomes also led the Chiefs in rushing, with 59 yards picked up on five carries. His favorite target on this night was Travis Kelce, who caught seven passes for 92 yards, which included a beautiful touchdown catch in the corner of the end zone.  

The Chargers actually gained more than 100 yards than the Chiefs, as they gained 438 yards total, and earned five more first downs. But the turnovers absolutely killed them on this night. Phillip Rivers, in a losing cause, completed 28 of 52 passes for 353 yards, with one touchdown and a whopping four interceptions, including his final pass when the Chargers were looking for the tying touchdown. His favorite targets were Austin Ekeler and Keenan Allen, both of whom had eight catches. Ekeler gained 108 yards, while Allen gained 71 yards, including one touchdown. Melvin Gordon added 69 yards on 14 carries.  

With the win, the Chiefs head to the bye week now alone again atop the AFC West ratings with a 7-4 record. They also would own the third seed in the AFC if the season ended right now. As for the Chargers, this loss sinks them to 4-7 on the year, and in third place in the division, ahead of the Broncos, but well behind both the Raiders and the Chiefs, both of whom beat the Chargers in recent weeks. It seems very likely that their season is effectively over already by this point.  

My prediction: Accurate