Chargers edged Chiefs 16-13. Discover the crucial rushing yards, turnover advantage, and pass-rush dominance that propelled them to victory.
Another ugly win for the Los Angeles Chargers today, a 16-13 win on the road in Kansas City against the Chiefs, but at least this one knocks the Chiefs out of the playoffs.
The box score would tell you that this was a very even matchup between two pretty bad offenses, and that would be correct, but there were a few differences that ended up determining the winner of the matchup.
Let's get into it...
45
The Chargers had 45 more rushing yards than the Chiefs in this one, although they also ran it eight more times (29) than the Chiefs did (21). 94 rushing yards on 29 carries comes out to 3.2 yards per carry for the Chargers, which is quite a bit more than the 2.3 yards per carry the Chiefs got on the day.
Strangely enough, both of these numbers are impacted by the QBs in opposite directions. Justin Herbert's 2 carries for zero yards definitely hurt the Chargers average. Meanwhile, Patrick Mahomes was nearly the KC leading rusher (before leaving the game with a knee injury) with 15 yards and a touchdown on two carries.
+1
Heading into this matchup, I was laser-focused on the Chiefs' inability to force turnovers but also how good their offense was at not turning the ball over. Winning the turnover battle was going to be key for the Chargers, who are still playing with one arm tied behind their back due to the injuries along the offensive line (not to mention Justin Herbert's broken hand).
Herbert threw a pick in the first half of the game, letting go of a duck while he was getting hit that was caught by a defensive lineman. Luckily, the Chargers defense responded with two interceptions in the second half, one thrown by Patrick Mahomes and the other by Gardner Minshew (who absolutely screwed up the Chiefs' chances of tying the game late).
That late pick gave the Chargers a +1 turnover advantage for the game.
9
This is one of those good news / bad news situations.
The good news is that the Chargers pass rush remains electric, and they were able to pick up 9 pressures against Mahomes (including 5 sacks). That's awesome and absolutely was the biggest reason for this Chargers victory.
The bad news is that the Chargers offensive line is still worrying, and they gave up 12 pressures of Justin Herbert (including 4 sacks). The line isn't getting any healthier, and Greg Roman's not calling the plays differently, so this isn't likely to change any time soon.