For the ninth year in a row, the Kansas City Chiefs are the winners of the AFC West. With another close win, fans were once again subjected to times of stress and anxiety. In the game's final seconds, the Chiefs hit a game-winning field goal and sent the Los Angeles Chargers home, hoping they could stay in the Wild Card race.
The Chiefs clinched the AFC West after clinching a playoff spot last week. Now, the AFC waits on the winners of the South and North divisions before getting a full playoff picture.
The Ending
Even though most of the game involved dominating defenses, the Chiefs took advantage of the Chargers' weaknesses on their final plays. After seeing what the Chiefs were missing in the previous quarters, Andy Reid was able to adapt fully, leaving Chargers fans to wonder why Travis Kelce was left open in the first place.
After running the clock down and preventing the Chargers from taking over if the field goal is successful, kicker Matthew Wright came on the field. Wright's 31-yard field goal doinked off the left upright and still went through for the win.
This is the third time this season that the Chiefs have won on a walk-off field goal. The craziest part about this is that they succeeded in this effort with three different kickers. Matthew Wright is the third-string kicker and has been spot-on in almost all of his field goals (8/9) so far.
Defensive Battle
Going into the game, it was easy to predict that it would not be high-scoring. Both defenses are ranked among the best in the league, and they showed that off on Sunday night.
Both offenses and quarterbacks struggled mightily against each defense. The Chargers went the entire first half without scoring and fell behind 13-0 before halftime. After the half, the Chargers took advantage of the Chiefs, slowing down on both sides of the ball.
When the Chargers were lacking on the defensive front, the Chiefs stormed down the field and won on a lucky field goal. Both defenses showed that they are strong but struggle when they are on the field for a while. The Chiefs had the last laugh at the end of the day.
Kelce Chaos
In this game, Kelce made tight-end history. Kelce became the fastest tight end in NFL history to reach 12,000 career receiving yards. Kelce broke the record previously held by Tony Gonzalez (172 games compared to 210).
Kelce ended the game as the Chiefs leading receiver, with five catches for 45 yards. Kelce landed this achievement the same day Taylor Swift ended her record-breaking Eras Tour.
Postgame, Patrick Mahomes talked about how much Kelce means to him on the field. "He's someone i can go to at any moment and he's going to make a big play happen," Mahomes said of Kelce.
Worthy of a Shoutout
After a rocky beginning of the season, Xavier Worthy is becoming a dangerous receiver for the Chiefs. He was in for a career-high snap count and was second on the team in total yards (behind Isiah Pacheco). Worthy's most impactful reception was on a third-and-10 to keep the game-winning drive going.
Worthy has hit some speed bumps in his first season, which is to be expected for a rookie receiver on one of the best teams in the league. He is getting better as he continues to adapt to coverages and routes.
With all of the injuries in the receivers room this season, Worthy's success is something for Chiefs fans to be excited about. Everyone is continuing to step up and provide for the team, which needs to continue in the playoffs if the Chiefs want to three-peat. Worthy is showing skills that will cement him as a key receiver for Kansas City in years to come.
Up Next: Cleveland Browns
Next Sunday, the Chiefs will travel to play the Cleveland Browns. The Browns are coming off two big losses to AFC playoff hopefuls, and the Chiefs should not have difficulty defeating them next week. However, only time will tell if they will come up with another interesting way to win a game.
Final Score: Chiefs 19, Chargers 17
Jones' Three Stars
1st Star - Matthew Wright
4/4 FG, including the game-winner
2nd Star - Patrick Mahomes
24/37, 210 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT
3rd Star - DeAndre Hopkins
4 receptions, 32 yards, 1 TD
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