Starting to pound this out as the 2nd half starts, and I can make some notes so far for our 2025 season opener, which is in Brazil. I'd heard a while ago that Chargers season ticket holders were really steamed in that the Chargers marketing information told them they would be able to see the Chiefs among all the other teams they'd play. Surely the assumption was the game would be in Los Angeles, but, well, here we are in Brazil for all the NFL international friendliness they want.
To the game:
Here at the beginning of the 2nd half we got the Chargers on a three-&-out down just 13-6.
The start of the game was not good, not good at all. On the 3rd play of the game while running his route Xavier Worthy slammed into Travis Kelce, I don't know how it all happened but Kelce blasted Worthy's shoulder. Worthy was announced to be out of the game, and we can only wait to find out what the deal is with this injury.
But yeah. We're already down Rashee Rice for six games and promising rookie Jalen Royals is nursing a bad knee. Thing is we've gotten actually pretty good production from Hollywood, Tyquan, and JuJu. At the end of the 2nd half Tyquan made an amazing over-the-shoulder catch on a deep pass, one that we have just not been seeing from our team for some time. It was sweet to watch.
It set up an amazing last second field goal from Harrison Butker when we had barely ten seconds to get the field goal team on the field to get the kick in. We did, quick, quick -- and Butker banged it through from 59. These are those things that show what kind of championship caliber team we are.
Here on our first 2nd half drive we are moving the ball. It is mostly Mahomes making quick throws to Hollywood and JuJu -- good! This works! On one play Patrick had nice running room out of a scramble and he himself laid into the defender standing him up as he went out of bounds. He's not backing down. This is Patrick Mahomes.
Sure enough, our man does it. As I put down these words Patrick does a little RPO maneuvering in the backfield, holds it, makes a few pass fakes, and takes it to the right pylon. Sweet.
Thing is, for some of the rest of this game?
We are getting no real pressure on their QB Herbert. Just none at all. We just have to put more pressure from more pass rushers but that just makes our defensive backfield more vulnerable. Yeah. We just need another Derrick Thomas back there, for sure.
I know people complain when we get Carl Cheffers officiating our games, and while for the most part it has been even-steven on the calls, some have gone against the Chiefs when they shouldn't have. We got the Chargers down to a 4th down early but they called Karlaftis for a roughing the passer. Of course, it really wasn't. He didn't do much to hit him and it was a split-second after he released the ball. It was not as if he should've known not to hit him. Just another crappy call that goes against the Chiefs. Point is the Chargers went on to score a touchdown.
Spags is now dialing up the extra pressure. Tranquill just made the play getting Herbert.
Regarding our offense everyone seems to feel the Chiefs will air it out more this year. Let's get Patrick to use that arm of his to greater effect! Yay! Well, he's thrown a few of those but he's been missing. The only one he made was that super-nice throw that Tyquan caught at the end of the 1st half -- again excellent work on both ends. Indeed let's see more of that! Thing is it hasn't happened.
But then let's just admit it, the Chargers defense is actually very good. They are right on top of everything. They are quick, smart, and smothering. Our O-line is playing okay, but our running game is just not getting what we could. Yes those O-linemen are getting too many procedural and holding penalties, but first game jitters, okay -- that'll all get worked out. But then, just like we need another Derrick Thomas on defense, we could really use another Priest Holmes on offense. Taking nothing away from Isiah and Kareem, they're actually doing as well as they could. It is not bad at all, mind you. But, yeah...
Now Herbert throws a way-too-easy TD pass to a way-too-wide-open receiver in the end zone. Ugh. Our defensive backfield kind-of looks a bit regularly flummoxed out there tonight. Jaylen Watson did make a fine play to defend a pass in the end zone a couple plays ago, but still. With no real pass rush pressure, it is hard to stop as good a QB as theirs. And our D-backs are all very young, they need some time to get this thing down.
And oh my. Just now Mahomes scrambling right in the middle at the line of scrimmage on a 3rd-&-5, 57 guys around him, going down, parallel to the ground and flipping the ball forward to JuJu for the 1st down. That's just Patrick Mahomes.
And now the nice long TD pass to Travis. Nice. But we missed the two-point conversion we needed because Harrison missed the PAT on the earlier touchdown. Now 20-18 them, moving on into the 4th quarter.
Chargers back with the ball and they are just tearing up our defensive backfield. They aren't even bothering with the run, just making our D-backs look silly.
Annnd we get another Cheffers deluxe. They don't call the obvious holding by their RB against our outside pass rusher while Herbert throws a TD pass, but they do call the facemask against our guy when he barely grazed the guy's facemask on the attempted stop. Yeah, I can see how it is all interpretation -- I do think the facemask should be called no matter how incidental.
But don't go telling us all that the Chiefs get the calls because they don't. Earlier in the game there was the very interpretive call against Karlaftis that really wasn't, while a few plays later their guy tackled Patrick then gave him an extra deliberate shove to the ground that, yes, they wouldn't call. That behavior was far more of an intentional action against our guy. Just interpretations? Maybe.
But they certainly can go one way more than another, and they sure have in this game.
Little time is left, we're now down 9, so we must score twice to win. Those missed conversions do loom very large now.
As we scramble to get back in this one, our O-line is just not holding up. Patrick just doesn't have the time to get get off a good pass to guys getting their routes clean.
And now on 4th-&-7 Mahomes scrambles right and heaves it to a wide-open Hollywood to the five. Wow.
We get the Butker FG, to make it 27-21 them with just under 3:00 to go.
We have a chance.
But yeah, it is Herbert against our D-backfield -- they just got a 1st-down pass completion right away. Eee. They'll run some to get us to burn our timeout... but we've got to stop them. Okay, good, a sack. We burn our last timeout, but it is now 3rd-&-long.
Oh crap. Herbert is allowed to scramble, run right, and get the 1st down with wide-open running green ahead of him.
Good containment, D-line.
Will this inadequacy on our D-line be a factor as we move forward? I mean it just didn't really do much on the whole, against what I'd heard was a bit of a weakened Chargers O-line.
Yikes.
But yeah, the Chargers finally beat us in a close game. I mean we'd had their number for so many games, so many close heart-breakers for them.
Yes, true, we now have to take on the Eagles next week. Maybe we'll see what we can correct and be ready for next week, and we'll be a bit better with our young D-backs getting some experience under their belts.
As it was it was nice to see a sea of red in the Brazil stadium seats. It was definitely a Chiefs-favoring crowd.
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