The LA Chargers fell to the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday Night Football in a game where the Chargers looked like the better team throughout. However, the Chiefs being the established team that they are, made big plays when they mattered most and that was ultimately the difference in the game.
It is fair to say that the Bolts had some horrible interception luck in this game. Despite finishing the game with zero interceptions, Patrick Mahomes threw several should-have-been picks that would have changed the tide of the game. One was called back on an egregious defensive penalty call, one was overturned in a questionable decision and one was dropped in the endzone.
All three should-have-been interceptions led to Chiefs points directly after. In fact, 17 of the 20 points that Kansas City scored on the offensive side of the football came after a should-have-been Chargers interception. Sometimes, that is just how the cookie crumbles.
This has led many Chiefs fans to clown the Chargers fans who are saying that this game could have been different, though. And while I get standing up for your team, it is pretty hard to deny that the Chargers probably should have won this game when Patrick Mahomes himself practically admits that he was bailed out against the Chargers in this one.
The Chargers beat themselves against the Chiefs.
This was the classic Chargers primetime loss that fans have unfortunately grown far too accustomed to. This was a game where you could have tweaked one or two moments throughout the entire game and it could have been a blowout win for the Chargers.
Instead, it was a 27-24 loss that is going to have the Bolts re-evaluating some things as they head into a 10-day break before hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars. The defense looked great, but the offense could use some work.
At the end of the day, it is hard to feel any worse about the Chargers after this game than fans did before the game. While there definitely are some things that need to be cleaned up, the Chargers just outplayed the Chiefs for 80% of the game with four days to prepare without their WR1 on a short week.
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Moral victories mean nothing and the Chargers are going to have to get this game back later in the season the second time these two teams square off. But after this performance on the road, fans can be confident in the Bolts' chances in that second matchup.