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The Chargers came into Arrowhead guns blazing early in the game. But, after the Chiefs scored 20 unanswered points in the second half, including a huge pick-6 at their own one-yard line, Kansas City was able to secure the victory over its AFC West rivals.
FINAL: @Chiefs get the Thursday night W and improve to 2-0! #TNFonPrime #LACvsKC pic.twitter.com/o420FQEWUe
— NFL (@NFL) September 16, 2022
Herbert-Williams Connection
One of the biggest questions entering Thursday night’s game was how Justin Herbert would make do with top receiver Keenan Allen out with a hamstring injury.
Herbert still has a lot of weapons to work with, but Allen is the key piece of the wide receiver room.
It didn’t seem to faze the third-year quarterback, as he found a connection with Mike Williams.
Against the Raiders, Williams was only targeted four times. He had two receptions and 10 yards. But Thursday, Williams was targeted 10 times. He came out of the game with eight receptions, 113 yards and a touchdown.
https://twitter.com/SNFonNBC/status/1570593354702032897
When the dust settled, Herbert went 33/48, and threw for 334 yards and three touchdowns. And, he was still able to be elite after he looked to be in considerable pain in the fourth quarter.
Mahomes Bests Chargers’ Secondary
In the first half, the Chargers controlled the game. The Chiefs had one strong touchdown drive; but other than that, the Chargers secondary locked down Patrick Mahomes’ options.
After halftime, however, Mahomes cracked Los Angeles’ defense. He relied on Travis Kelce for most of his targets and found Justin Watson in the end zone in the third quarter.
The Chiefs also utilized the run game a good bunch. Clyde Edwards-Helaire had eight carries for 74 yards, including a huge 52-yard run in the fourth quarter.
The Pick-6
Football is a game of inches. One play or one yard can change the entire trajectory of a game. That’s what happened Thursday night.
Tied at 17, the Chargers were three yards away from taking the lead in the fourth quarter. But, what looked like a miscommunication on the offense, Herbert threw the ball straight to Chiefs seventh-round selection Jaylen Watson for a 99-yard pick-6.
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1570602707265933313
The pick-6 was the only one this century to happen in the fourth quarter, in the red zone in a tied game.
After that, the Chargers looked deflated and gave up another field goal. They were able to find the end zone to decrease Kansas City’s lead to three, but it was too little, too late. The Chiefs recovered the onside kick, ran out the clock and won the game 27-24.
