The LA Chargers took the Kansas City Chiefs to the limit, but it was not enough. A fortunate doink off the left upright and some questionable officiating late in the game highlight the Chargers' 19-17 loss to the Chiefs on Sunday Night Football.
Nobody in the Chargers locker room is blaming either of those things for the loss, though. Jim Harbaugh has built a culture of accountability that has no room for excuses, even if they may be valid.
Just ask Derwin James. James and the Chargers defense played an excellent game and could have capped that game off with a win with more luck down the stretch. Instead, the Chargers lost and James is only focusing on what the Chargers defense did wrong, not what it did right.
Derwin James: “We didn’t make the plays in the third and fourth quarter to get off the field and I know looking at the tape we’re gonna be sick to our stomachs.”
— Kris Rhim (@krisrhim1) December 9, 2024
Derwin James says Chargers will be sick to their stomachs after loss to Chiefs
Sick to their stomachs. That is exactly how every Chargers fan feels after watching yet another winnable game against the Chiefs slip through the cracks.
James is not wrong, there were important moments late in the fourth quarter that could have shifted the entire tide of the game if they had gone differently. Whether it be a jump pass after escaping pressure or a dart to Travis Kelce to ice the game away, the Chiefs made key plays on the last drive in big moments to win the game.
The most notable mistake the Chagrers made late in the game was via Daiyan Henley. Henley had a clear line on Mahomes, who rolled right out of the pocket, and could have forced the Chiefs to kick a field goal had he just played the ball and deflected a pass.
Instead, Henley charged at Mahomes like a raging bull only for the quarterback to ole his red jersey out of the way at the last second. Henley barreled down into the turf while Mahomes found Kelce for the first round. From there, all the Chiefs had to do was ice the clock and kick the field goal.
Unfortunately, the defense has to live with moments like this because the unit was exceptional for most of the game. Jesse Minter's defense lived up to being the top defense in the sport and stifled the Chiefs for most of the game. Even in the win, the Chiefs only had 298 yards of total offense.
It may not have gone the Chargers way on Sunday but the defense will learn from these mistakes and will get better as a result. And if the Chargers do get a chance to play the Chiefs in the NFL Playoffs, the defense won't make the same mistakes again.