Kansas City, MO (AP) -- The Chargers switched to the Kansas City Chiefs for the fourth time on Sunday. Los Angeles coach Brandon Staley was left with a crucial fourth-down call, with less than a minute left in a tie game.
Send your kicker for a 48-yard field goal, even though Tristan Vizcano has already missed an extra point. Or put the result with Justin Herbert and the offense.
"We wanted to leave the ball in Justin's hands," Staley said. "We wanted him to be a game decider."
Herbert bowled a jump ball that produced a pass interference call on Chiefs DeAndre Baker and down first. He then struck Mike Williams with consistent perfection, including a TD throw with 32 seconds to give Los Angeles a 30-24 win over the five-time AFC West champions.
"We're lucky we have a gangsta quarterback," Staley said with a grin.
Herbert finished with 281 yards and four TDs without an interception, making Patrick Mahomes not only one of the game's two best young quarterbacks in a matchup, but the two teams expected to compete for a division title.
Instead, the incoming Chargers (2-1) won Kansas City for the third time in four trips, while sending the two-time defending conference champion Chiefs (1-2) to the Division Sailor.
"You can't get past the four turnovers," said chief assistant Dave Taub, who raised postgame questions because coach Andy Reid was feeling ill. "I thought that was the story of the game."
The Chiefs quickly fell 14–0, but climbed back into the game in the second half, taking a 24–21 lead in the middle of the fourth quarter. But the Chargers tied it on Tristan Vizcano's short field goal, and after Mahomes was selected by Alohi Gilman to go with 1:42, Herbert began the march to advance.
He converted third and -2 near midfield with a pass to Allen, then an interference from Baker helped the Chargers bail on a fourth-down incomplete. Herbert hit Williams for a 16-yard advantage before finding his big wide receiver in the end zone for the second time in the game.
Head reached midfield in the closing seconds, but Mahomes' final field throw was incomplete.
"The defense stepped up today and forced all those turnovers," said Herbert, who found Williams seven times for 122 yards and two touchdowns. "I couldn't have done it without them."
Austin Eckler and Keenan Allen also took touchdown catches for the Chargers.
Mahomes finished with 260 yards and three touchdowns to go with his two interceptions, while Clyde Edwards-Hellair covered 100 yards with a touchdown catch, but was responsible for one of two Kansas City catches. .
Mahomes said, 'No one is happy with the way we played. "You hurt a division opponent, that's not a good thing. We haven't done much in our time here. That's how you react. We have a long season ahead of us."
The Chargers' defensive game plan seemed simple: they refused to throw Mahomes deep, forcing them into short check-downs, and put together long drives while waiting for the Chiefs to self-destruct.
Kansas City certainly followed.
In his opening possession, Mahomes bounced a pass to Marcus Kemp that was caught by rookie Asante Samuel Jr. for his second interception in as many weeks. The Chiefs bore the brunt of it on their next drive and, on their third attempt, Edwards-Hellair lost the ball after only a week, when in the closing minutes Kansas City scored a shot on a winning field goal in Baltimore.
Herbert found Allen for a short TD pass early in the second quarter to give the Chargers the lead, then hit Ekeler from 16 yards to take a 14-3 lead at the break.
The chiefs would have pushed reset in the locker room.
He used a 12-play, 75-yard drive to start the second half that ended with a short TD throw to Jody Fortsson. A 10-play, 70-yard drive ended when Edwards-Heller caught a TD pass.
Los Angeles answered with a 75-yard touchdown drive, converting to fourth on the way up, but Mahomes had some more magic to help his team advance 72 yards and find Mecole Hardman to take another forward. did.
The Chargers had a chance to take the lead over Kansas City 1, but an illegal shift penalty took away a TD pass. Los Angeles kicked a tying field goal—the first time in 13 red-zone trips this season that the Chiefs had not allowed a touchdown.
The next time they were down there, the Chargers made sure to find the end zone.
"Any loss is a gut punch. We could have played with any team," said Edwards-Heller. "The two most important letters in this game are 'L' and 'W'. If you're not getting a W, you're getting an L, and that's not a good feeling."
CALL IT EVEN
The Chiefs had DT Chris Jones (wrist) but were without starting DE Frank Clark (hamstrings) and CB Charvarias Ward (quad). Chargers had DE Joy Bossa (leg), but DL Justin Jones (calf) and CB Chris Harris Jr (shoulder) were missing.
INJURIES
Chargers: FS Darwin James Jr. (Shoulder) moves into the second quarter but returns to the game.
Chiefs: CB Rashad Fenton was assessed for a concussion at halftime.
UP NEXT
The Chargers will face Las Vegas on October 4.
The Chiefs will visit Philadelphia next Sunday.