Oct 18, 2026 11:54 PM

The Los Angeles Chargers fall to 0-6 based on the 22-6 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on the road.

The Los Angeles Chargers and head coach Jim Harbaugh played a tough road game on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs, which resulted in the Chiefs picking up the win with a final score of 22-6. 

So, let's take a look at how this game unfolded and what enabled the Chiefs to pick up the victory.

1st Quarter

On the first drive of the game, quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs were able to have a solid drive down the field, which ended in a 44-yard field goal from kicker Harrison Butker to give Kansas City the first lead at 3-0.

Then quarterback Justin Herbert and the Chargers went three-and-out and punted the ball back to the Chiefs the ball back. On the next possession, Kansas City once again moved the ball and then, to finish the drive, running back Kenneth Walker had an explosive 33-yard touchdown run. However, Butker missed the extra point, so Kansas City was up 9-0.

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Now down 9-0, the Chargers responded on a good offensive drive, which did end in a red zone field goal to cut the Chiefs' lead to 9-3. 

2nd Quarter

At the start of the second quarter, the Chiefs were unable to move the ball, so they punted the ball back to the Chargers.

On the next possession for the Chargers, Herbert was intercepted by Kansas City cornerback Christian Roland-Wallace, but it was taken away by a penalty. Later on the drive, Herbert was picked off by Chiefs linebacker Jack Cochrane, who returned the ball to the Los Angeles 17-yard line.

With the great field position, the Chiefs were unable to capitalize as a result of Mahomes being intercepted in the end zone. Following the turnover, the Chargers were not able to respond, as they were forced to punt.

After the Los Angeles punt, the Chiefs were able to move the ball very well through the air and in the red zone, Mahomes handed the ball off to Walker, who punched it in from two yards out to put the Chiefs up 16-3.

Despite needing to respond, the Chargers could not do anything on offense once again, so they punted the ball back to Kansas City. Mahomes and the Chiefs were then able to manage the clock and have Butker kick a 50-yard field goal to extend the lead to 19-3.

Then, Butker kicked the ball off to Chargers running back Keaton Mitchell who had a return of 27 yards which ended up being the final play of the half.

3rd Quarter

To start the second half, the Chargers had the ball and were on the verge of punting, but on 3 and 12, Herbert completed a 57-yard pass to wide receiver Quentin Johnston, which set Los Angeles up on the Kansas City one-yard line, but the Chargers could not punch it, so they settled for a 30-yard field goal from Dicker to cut the lead to 19-6.

The Chiefs were looking to respond on their next offensive series and they were able to move the ball all the way down the field, but Walker was stuffed on 4th and Goal from the one-yard line, which was a huge stop for the Chargers.

With the stop, Los Angeles was pinned on their own one-yard line and could not move the ball, so they had to punt, but Chiefs wide receiver Niko Remigio ended up fumbling on the punt return, and the Chargers recovered.

Even with the ball back, the Chargers could not do anything with it, so they punted the ball to the Chiefs, and then Kansas City punted the ball back to Los Angeles.

4th Quarter

Following the series of punts, the Chargers were moving the ball, but on 4th and 6 on the Kansas City 38, Herbert completed a pass to wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith that was short of the line to gain and he was tackled by Chiefs cornerback Nohl Williams, so Los Angeles turned the ball over on downs.

Then, Kansas City was hoping to respond, and they got in a solid position as they moved the ball decently, but they were stopped, so they settled for a 52-yard field goal from Butker, but he missed it, so the Chiefs' lead stayed at 19-6.

On the next drive for the Chargers, they were on a decent drive, but Herbert completed a pass to Lambert-Smith, which was a solid gain, but Chiefs cornerback La'Jarius Sneed forced Lambert-Smith to fumble on the Kansas City 36-yard line, and Chiefs linebacker Drue Tranquill recovered the fumble at the Kansas City 38-yard line.

Following the turnover, Mahomes and the Chiefs were able to have a solid drive as the offense marched all the way down inside the Chargers' 15, but they settled for a 30-yard field goal from Butker, which extended the lead to 22-6.

After the field goal from Kansas City, the Chargers absolutely needed a score, and they had a good drive going and benefited from a roughing the passer call on 4th and 24 to get a first down, but the offense could not get the ball into the end zone as Herbert struggled to find openings, and on 4th and 4, he was hit by Chiefs pass rusher R Mason Thomas, which forced an incompletion and a turnover on downs for the Chargers.

With the change in possession, Mahomes kneeled the ball down twice to win down the clock and give the Chiefs yet another win to move them to 5-0 and give the Chargers another loss to drop them to 0-6.

The Overall Takeaway

With the loss, the Chargers are now 0-6 and could have to make some major changes sooner rather than later for both this season as well as moving forward, which is definitely not where this team thought they would be after Week 6.

Based on that, it will be interesting to see how this team responds moving forward and if they can find a win despite having a very tough schedule.

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