Chiefs top Chargers on game-ending FG to win AFC West title
Patrick Mahomes threw for 210 yards and a touchdown, Matthew Wright made a 31-yard field goal off the left upright as time expired and the Kansas City Chiefs clinched another AFC West title with a 19-17 victory Sunday night over the visiting Los Angeles Chargers.
Mahomes guided a 14-play, 47-yard drive, which was capped by Wright’s game-winning kick, as the Chiefs extended their NFL record to 15 consecutive one-score victories going back to last season, counting playoff games.
Wright, who finished with four field goals, is Kansas City’s third kicker this season with Harrison Butker and Spencer Shrader both out with injuries.
Isiah Pacheco had 55 yards rushing and Travis Kelce finished with five receptions for 45 yards, including a key first-down catch just after the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter, as Kansas City won its ninth consecutive division title.
Justin Herbert had 213 yards passing with a touchdown, and Joshua Palmer had six receptions for 78 yards for the Chargers. Quentin Johnston had five receptions for 48 yards and a TD for Los Angeles, which lost for just the second time in its past seven games.
The Chiefs won both games between the two teams this season. Kansas City beat Los Angeles 17-10 on the road in September.
After they were shut out in the first half, the Chargers took the lead in the third quarter. Gus Edwards ran for a 3-yard touchdown with 7:12 left in the quarter and Herbert threw a 4-yard TD pass to Johnston with 3:30 remaining to give Los Angeles a 14-13 edge.
The teams exchanged field goals in the fourth quarter before Wright’s game winner. Wright made a 50-yarder with 13:04 remaining to give the Chiefs a 16-14 lead. The Chargers moved in front 17-16 with 4:35 on the clock after a 37-yard kick from Cameron Dicker.
Kansas City scored the only points of the first quarter when Matthew Wright made a 47-yard field goal with 10:05 remaining.
The Chiefs added a 33-yard field goal from Wright near the midway point of the second quarter and took a 13-0 lead into halftime after a 9-yard touchdown pass from Mahomes to DeAndre Hopkins with less than a minute remaining before the break.
The Chiefs held the Chargers to 127 net yards in the first half, including 93 net yards passing.
–Field Level Media
