Kansas City Chiefs: 10 likes and 10 dislikes from win vs Chargers in week 2
By Cullen Jekel
Dislikes, 1-5
1. Faulty Front End
The Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive line did not have its finest hour against the Chargers. Above, we already talked about how the line stepped it up in the second half to help the Chiefs come back and secure the victory. Still, that was an ugly first half for the line.
Mitchell Schwartz, the team’s stalwart right tackle, got dominated by Joey Bosa while the rest of the line got beat throughout the day, too. Rather incredibly, Mahomes was sacked just one time.
The superhuman that is Patrick Mahomes came up BIG to win the game, but...
— PFF (@PFF) September 21, 2020
Mitchell Schwartz allowed 7 (!!) pressures against LAC, the most in a single game for him since 2013https://t.co/pqIBPNnOoj
Silver lining: the offensive line struggled against a talented pass-rush, and the Chiefs still won.
2. Time Lost
Last week, one of my likes was how much the Chiefs dominated the time of possession. This week, not so much.
The Chargers won the TOP battle 39:27 to 28:38, and I’m surprised it was even that close. Against a good team (sorry, Chargers), that won’t cut it.
3. Gutted
Perhaps the main reason behind the TOP loss was because the Chargers were able to run the ball so effectively. As a team, the Chargers ran the ball a whopping 44 times for 183 yards. For a while there, it looked like the Chiefs weren’t able to stop much of anything up the middle.
That makes it all the more curious why the Chargers didn’t go for it on fourth down in overtime.
4. The March
After the Chiefs tied it up at 17, the Chargers answered with a 17-play, 82-yard drive that ate up 10 minutes and 21 seconds of time in the fourth quarter. The drive stalled at the five, forcing the Chargers to kick a field goal and take only a 20-17 lead with 2:27 left on the clock.
That drive was bad, but could’ve ended so much worse if LAC had found its way into the end zone.
5. The Kid from Eugene
How ’bout that Justin Herbert? I didn’t think much of the Chargers’ draft pick when they made it, and I’m still of the mind that the best way for this team to win (and for Lynn to keep his job) is to go with the veteran Tyrod Taylor when he’s healthy.
Justin Herbert is the first NFL player with a rushing and passing TD in the first half of NFL debut since 1954
— Madelyn Burke (@MadelynBurke) September 20, 2020
And yet, Herbert looked good against the Chiefs. Not great, but good.
He went 22-for-33 for 311 yards, one touchdown and one interception, good for a QBR of 75.7 and a Quarterback Rating of 94.4. He added 18 yards on the ground, including a touchdown. Pretty good day for the rookie making his debut against the defending champs.