Final score: Chiefs commit 4 turnovers, falling to Chargers 30-24

For the second straight week, the Kansas City Chiefs committed incredibly costly turnovers that prevented them from winning a game they had a great chance of winning. Three of the four turnovers came very early — but the fourth was an errant throw by quarterback Patrick Mahomes late in the fourth quarter. With their 30-24 home loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, Kansas City falls to 1-2 on the season — the team’s first losing record since Mahomes became the starter in 2018.

After receiving the opening kickoff, the Chargers went three-and-out on a series of uneventful plays. A stuffed run — and a big tackle by starting cornerback Rashad Fenton — highlighted the defensive stop.

The Chiefs began their opening possession on their own 8-yard line. A quick pass to wide receiver Tyreek Hill got the initial first down. The second came on a 12-yard scramble by Mahomes, which was followed by a 15-yard gain on a jet sweep to wide receiver Mecole Hardman. Two more first downs set the Chiefs up in Los Angeles territory — but a pass to wide receiver Marcus Kemp was slightly behind him. Bouncing into the air, it was intercepted by Chargers’ rookie cornerback Asante Samuel Jr.

Los Angeles took over from the 3-yard line, taking advantage of linebacker Ben Niemann trying to cover running back Austin Ekeler for a first down conversion on third-and-3. The next two plays were negative — and Justin Herbert’s third-and-11 scramble didn’t get to the marker.

Starting at the Chargers’ 45-yard line, the offense started with an 11-yard jet sweep by Hill. A few plays later, Mahomes found Hill again — but a Los Angeles defensive back punched the ball out after he secured it. The Chargers recovered.

As the second quarter began, Los Angeles drove methodically down the field, getting chunk plays from wide receiver Mike Williams and tight end Donald Parham. They capped it off with a four-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Keenan Allen.

Down 6-0, the Chiefs took over, feeding running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire on the drive’s first four plays. Then Mahomes then found tight end Travis Kelce for 17 yards to get into Chargers’ territory. Going back to the run game, Edwards-Helaire got a chunk of yards — but the ball was stripped away. Once again, Los Angeles recovered.

From their own 47-yard line, the Chargers wasted no time driving down the field; they didn’t face a third down as they earned chunks of positive yards through the air. The last was a dump off to Ekeler, who scampered 16 yards for a touchdown. A throw to Williams earned the two-point conversion to make it 14-0.

The Chiefs tried to start their comeback on the next drive. After the Chargers blew up a screen pass, defensive lineman Joey Bosa beat guard Trey Smith to sack Mahomes.

With five minutes to go in the first half, the Chargers began their drive with two quick passes to Ekeler that reset the downs. A couple of plays later on third down, Herbert attempted a deep pass into the end zone — but safety Daniel Sorensen recovered to make a pass breakup. On the next play, a successful fourth-down conversion was wiped out by an illegal shift penalty. The Chargers punted.

Just before the two-minute warning, the Chiefs’ offense took over at their 14-yard line. Quickly getting into a third-and-5, they converted with a 15-yard gain by Kelce. Out of the break, Kelce made a catch for 28 yards to get down to Chargers’ 38-yard line. An Edwards-Helaire 14-yard run got them into the red zone. They got into a third-and-15 because of a false start by left guard Joe Thuney, but couldn’t convert. A successful field goal attempt made it 14-3 going into halftime.

Kansas City’s offense opened the second half with a long drive, featuring chunk gains from Edwards-Helaire, Hill Mecole Hardman to get them inside the Chargers’ 10-yard line. On third-and-goal, Mahomes found tight end Jody Fortson in the back of the end zone for his first career score.

With the score at 14-10, the Chargers couldn’t answer on their next drive. They went three-and-out, highlighted being a sack by defensive end Mike Danna — his first of the season.

From their own 30-yard line, the Chiefs used a Kelce reception to move the sticks. On the next play, a flea flicker didn’t go well, falling incomplete and setting up a third-and-10 — in which Mahomes went back to Kelce for a 23-yard gain. A late hit on Hardman gave the Chiefs 15 more yards — but then they went back 10 on a hands to the face penalty by right tackle Lucas Niang.

The offense bounced back to get a first down on an 18-yard pass to Hill. A few plays later, Edwards-Helaire took a screen pass into the end zone, giving the Chiefs their first lead of the game.

Down 17-14, Los Angeles began their drive with a flea-flicker that fell incomplete because of the Kansas City pass rush. On the ensuing third down, tight end Jared Cook made a great catch over Sorensen for a first-down conversion to get into Chiefs territory. As the third quarter ended, cornerback Deandre Baker made his first big play of the season, tackling Keenan Allen at the line of scrimmage on third-and-4.

Los Angeles decided to go for it on fourth-and-4 — 28 yards away from the end zone — and converted with a nine-yard completion to Allen. Soon after, Williams got Hughes turned around on a route, getting wide open for a touchdown giving Los Angeles a 21-17 lead.

With 13 minutes left in the game, the Chiefs started from their own 28 in an attempt to regain the lead. A couple of big runs by Edwards-Helaire helped them move into Los Angeles territory — and they got closer to the end zone with runs by Darrel Williams and a catch by Byron Pringle. To finish the drive, a tap pass to Hardman went eight yards and into the end zone.

With the Chargers down 24-21 with under seven minutes remaining, they didn’t waste time getting into scoring position; they got deep into Kansas City territory on a 43-yard reception by Williams to open the drive. A string of big runs by Ekeler got them closer to the end zone. But the Chiefs’ red zone defense — even after a defensive pass interference penalty on Sneed — held for six consecutive plays. The Chargers had to settle for a field goal to tie the game.

With the score 24-24 and the 2:14 on the game clock, the Chiefs began at the 25-yard line with a short run. Out of the two-minute warning, an incomplete pass forced the Chiefs into a third-and-8. Mahomes rolled out looking for Kelce deep, but threw it to Chargers safety Alohi Gilman instead. It was his second second-half, game-changing interception in as many games.

The Chargers got into field goal range quickly on the back of a big reception by Allen. The Chiefs’ defense held, forcing a fourth-and-4 — which turned into a fourth-and-9 after a false start — but the Chargers converted on a defensive pass interference penalty on Baker. Two plays later, a touchdown catch by Williams gave Los Angeles a six-point lead with 32 seconds remaining.

Down 30-24, the Chiefs tried a desperation drive to pull out a miraculous win — but failed to reach the end zone.

Injuries

Cornerback Rashad Fenton had to leave the game after getting a knee to the face on an attempted hurdle. He was being evaluated for a concussion and was ruled out in the third quarter.

Special teams

On the first punt return of the game, cornerback L’Jarius Sneed was called for a holding penalty that negated an 18-yard return.

Chargers kicker Chargers Tristan Vizcaino missed the extra-point attempt on their first touchdown. He also missed one after their last touchdown.

Kicker Harrison Butker converted a 34-yard field goal before half to put the Chiefs’ first points on the board. He went 3/3 on point-after attempts.

Statistics