The Kansas City Chiefs just snagged another W, beating the Los Angeles Chargers 22-6 on Sunday afternoon at Arrowhead Stadium and pushing their record to a perfect 5-0. But if you only saw that final score, you’d miss the absolute clown show their offense and special teams put on. Against a winless Chargers squad, it was way closer than it ever should have been.
Offense and Special Teams Were on Nap Time
Honestly, watching the Chiefs’ offense was like pulling teeth. Head Coach Andy Reid made some super conservative fourth-down decisions early, which was baffling. Then Patrick Mahomes threw a red-zone interception, yikes! And don’t even get me started on the stuffed fourth-and-goal run from inside the one-yard line in the third quarter. Like, seriously? Special teams weren’t much better. Returner Nikko Remigio almost coughed up the opening kickoff, then actually fumbled an extended punt return after the defense worked its butt off to force a three-and-out inside the Chargers’ own one-yard line. Kicker Harrison Butker even missed a 52-yard field goal in the fourth, totally blowing a chance to go up by 16 points instead of just 13 with under 12 minutes to go. All these self-inflicted wounds kept the scoreboard from exploding like it should have, even against a team as bad as the Chargers.
The Defense Was an Absolute Brick Wall
Thank the football gods for the Chiefs’ defense, because they were the real MVPs, holding strong all afternoon. The Chargers barely scraped together six points, converting just five of 16 third-down attempts and failing on all three of their fourth-down tries. Herbert got sacked four times and picked off once. There was one interception that got questionably negated because defensive end Ashton Gillotte apparently came in too high when he pressured Herbert, which was a bummer. The Chargers went three-and-out four times and only hit double-digit plays on a single possession before garbage time. Herbert ended up with only 204 passing yards on 37 attempts and a paltry 63.3 passer rating. Even his 57-yard bomb to wide receiver Quentin Johnston, where Chiefs cornerback Mansoor Delane actually got his hands on the ball, only led to a field goal after it reached the one-yard line.
The Chiefs’ run defense was lights out, too. Not a single Chargers ball carrier gained 10 or more yards on a run, with their running backs combining for a measly 43 yards on 16 carries. Linebacker Nick Bolton was a beast with 10 tackles. But George Karlaftis? That dude was disruptive all over the place with six tackles, two for a loss, batting down two passes, and hitting Herbert two other times. He didn’t end the Chiefs’ sack drought solo, though. Gillotte got one, burying Herbert in the grass in the second half for a huge roar from Arrowhead. And defensive tackles Peter Woods and Chris Jones split another sack on a second-down play when the Chargers were backed up at their own one-yard line. Oh, and linebacker Jack Cochrane snagged an interception too. This defense is legitimately scary good.
So, the Chiefs are 5-0, but man, they made it hard on themselves. Can the offense figure out how to score consistently without shooting themselves in the foot, or is this defense going to have to carry them every single week? They’ve got the undefeated record, but there are definitely some big questions still floating around that locker room.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Arrowhead Pride.
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