Los Angeles Chargers @ Kansas City Chiefs
Final Score: Chargers 16, Chiefs 13
Writer: Raymi Chavez
A frosty Sunday afternoon at Arrowhead Stadium was the battlefield for this divisional matchup. The Chiefs got off to a great start, ending with a Patrick Mahomes rushing touchdown on the opening drive. That would mark the high point for the Chiefs’ offense. Both teams came in with banged-up offensive lines, and both quarterbacks faced endless pressure on every dropback. The Chargers executed a brilliant drive with 33 seconds left in the first half, culminating in a fantastic touchdown pass to KeAndre Lambert-Smith. To kick off the second half, the Chargers kept the momentum up to knot the game up with a short field goal. In the second half, it felt like every other play was stopped for an injury, mainly on the Chiefs’ side. The Chiefs’ offense was nearly completely stalled out, allowing the Chargers to take a 16-13 lead with Mahomes getting the ball for one last chance to save the Chiefs’ season. A promising drive that had them 15 yards from field-goal range was quickly overshadowed when Mahomes writhed in pain, clutching his left knee, and was helped to the locker room. The season felt over at that moment, but Gardner Minshew managed to get the Chiefs in field-goal range before an interception officially put the nail in the coffin. We’ll check out how this impacted the first week of fantasy playoffs below.
One Up
- Travis Kelce — Kelce did a lot of his damage on the first and last drives of the game, resulting in a productive day.
Three Down
- Kareem Hunt — Hunt struggled to get anything going and wasn’t able to punch one in to save his day.
- Ladd McConkey — McConkey seems to be the biggest loser when it comes to this flailing Chargers pass game.
- Xavier Worthy — Worthy hasn’t had a good game since Week 4 against the Ravens. This continued Sunday.
Los Angeles Chargers
Quarterback
Justin Herbert: 19/29, 210 Yards, TD, INT | 2 Carries, 0 Yards
Justin Herbert was under pressure on what felt like every single dropback. A makeshift offensive line and a hurt left hand seemed to really plague him in the first half until his impressive passing touchdown to KeAndre Lambert-Smith to end the first half. That drive seemed to get him into a groove as the passing offense was far more effective in the second half, finding Oronde Gadsden II and Keenan Allen regularly. Herbert did a great job of navigating through the pressure in the pocket and standing in there, taking a hit to complete throws downfield. Even had a couple of great throwaways to narrowly avoid sacks in crucial situations.
Running Back
Omarion Hampton: 15 Carries, 61 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 4 Yards
This backfield continued to be a little bit more of a split backfield than Omarion Hampton owners would like to see, and, in the first half, Hampton was the far less effective running back. He found his groove in the second half, highlighted by a 26-yard dash down the left sideline.
Kimani Vidal: 12 Carries, 33 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 15 Yards
Kimani Vidal‘s performance while Hampton was out with injury seems to have earned him some staying power as he continues to split the backfield with Hampton back in the fold. Vidal was consistent and effective in the first half but found himself getting stuffed and losing yardage in the second half, ceding snaps to Hampton as Hampton started to heat up.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Keenan Allen: 7 Targets, 5 Receptions, 36 Yards
Keenan Allen was Herbert’s most consistent target, just eating up short yardage over and over. Allen was crucial in getting the team into short second and third downs. Had one critical drop on the Chargers’ last drop that could have set them up to put the nail in the coffin of the Chiefs on offense. Luckily, the defense handled its business. A difficult matchup Sunday. In easier matchups, he could prove productive in the playoffs.
Oronde Gadsden II: 5 Targets, 4 Receptions, 61 Yards
Oronde Gadsden II bounced back after a stretch of four eye-popping performances. He followed that with four brutal outings. On Sunday, water met its level. These types of games seem to be the norm for Gadsden. He was sure-handed and consistently turned the ball upfield, adding tons of yards after the catch.
Tre’ Harris: 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, 49 Yards
A 37-yard catch on the sideline was his highlight of the game, as that catch set them up to score their lone touchdown of the game. Herbert seems to trust the rookie wide receiver, and he may be supplanting Ladd McConkey on the depth chart.
Ladd McConkey: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 20 Yards
Ladd McConkey was highly disappointing, nearly invisible outside of a big 13-yard reception that helped the Chargers overcome a holding penalty on a drive that ended in their game-tying field goal. Considering the fantasy draft capital it required to get McConkey this year, he continues to be one of the biggest disappointments of the year.
KeAndre Lambert-Smith: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 16 Yards, Touchdown
Made a great catch at the back of the end zone for his first career touchdown.
Scott Matlock: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 9 Yards
Kansas City Chiefs
Quarterback
Patrick Mahomes: 16/28, 189 Yards, INT | 2 Carries, 15 Yards, TD
Patrick Mahomes started hot with a clinical first half, but slowed down dramatically after that. Coming in on a hurt left knee, he struggled with the immense pressure he was under due to a well below-par offensive line. In the third quarter, he had zero passing yards until a Rashee Rice 8-yard catch to end the quarter was completed. He managed to hit some throws downfield in the fourth quarter and seemed to find a rhythm again before a brutal decision to try to hit Kareem Hunt on a wheel route ended in an interception with the team already in field-goal position. The most significant blow came on the last drive of the game as Mahomes’ left leg seemed to lock up when landing, and he was immediately grabbing at it and rolling around before being helped to the locker room. The Chiefs were eliminated with the loss and Mahomes was determined to have torn his left ACL, ending his season.
Gardner Minshew: 3/5, 22 Yards, INT
Gardner Minshew came in for five snaps, hyperfocused on Travis Kelce and Rice, got the team into field-goal range for a potential game-tying kick, but alas, that kick never came, as Minshew tried to force one into Kelce and was intercepted. He will most likely be the starter the rest of the way and, with practice, could be serviceable, but it’s tough to tell off of this series of snaps.
Running Back
Isiah Pacheco: 11 Carries, 21 Yards
The Chiefs’ run game was hardly relevant. The Chiefs tried to get it going and build some consistency, but couldn’t. Isiah Pacheco seems to have retaken his spot atop the depth chart, and, with Mahomes being down, this team could be leaning on their run game moving forward. Would still need to see it to believe it.
Kareem Hunt: 6 Carries, 12 Yards | 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 8 Yards
Kareem Hunt continued to be deadly on third- and fourth-and-1, but was wholly irrelevant outside of that. This is most likely the role the Chiefs envisioned for this running back room, and his fantasy relevance would depend entirely on whether he finds the end zone.
Brashard Smith: 2 Carries, 1 Yard
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Travis Kelce: 9 Targets, 7 Receptions, 70 Yards
Travis Kelce did most of his damage on the opening and closing drives of the game, showing up when the team needed him most. It will be tough to forecast how the rest of his season will look with Minshew at quarterback. While Minshew seemed to zone in on Kelce on every dropback, Kelce is aging and may just be trying to get to the offseason.
Rashee Rice: 11 Targets, 7 Receptions, 51 Yards
Rashee Rice had one bad drop on a screen and two incompletions where he got absolutely smoked as he was attempting to make a catch. He went down on the second one and managed to return, but definitely felt those hits. I wouldn’t be surprised if Rice continues to be productive, as he does some great work in the short and intermediate game, and Minshew will be looking for someone to latch onto and focus on.
Xavier Worthy: 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 35 Yards
Worthy had a great catch-and-run for 26 yards that got the team into field-goal range for their last points of the game, and had an earlier reception on that same drive. Later in the drive, he was draped by the defender without a flag thrown. Outside of that drive, Worthy wasn’t anywhere to be seen, and it’s tough to see him becoming fantasy relevant moving forward this season.
Tyquan Thornton: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 47 Yards
Mahomes’ favorite deep threat got open deep on back-to-back throws, the first for 26 yards, which was hampered by a blindside block penalty, but he immediately followed that up with a 17-yard completion. Unfortunately, during that play, he got obliterated by the Chargers’ safety, who was ejected for unnecessary roughness. Tyquan Thornton exhibited signs of being knocked out and didn’t return to the game.