The Chargers fell to the Chiefs, 31-17, which dropped their record to 2-4.
To recap, here is a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly from Los Angeles’ loss to Kansas City:
The good
WR Joshua Palmer: The Chargers needed someone to step up with Mike Williams out for the remainder of the season, and Palmer has been that guy. Palmer set a career-high in receiving yards (133) on five catches, with nearly half being made up from the big 60-yard reception he had in the first half to set up the second touchdown of the game. What’s encouraging is that Palmer has flourished in the deep parts of the field, which the team has been lacking since Williams’ absence.
RB Joshua Kelley: After the Chiefs got on the scoreboard first, the Chargers responded with Kelley’s 49-yard rushing touchdown. It marked the longest run of his professional career. On the day, Kelley had seven carries for 75 yards. This was encouraging, considering the rushing offense struggled to get anything going on the ground since Week 1.
Run defense: The Chargers limited Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco to just 32 yards on 13 carries (2.5 yards per rush). Los Angeles’ defense against the run finished near the bottom of the barrel last season and now it’s close to being a top-10 unit.
P JK Scott: Scott hadn’t been at his best the first few games of the season after a remarkable campaign last year. But he flipped the switch and put together what may be one of his best performances in a Chargers uniform. Scott had three punts inside the Chiefs’ 10-yard line, with one that skyrocketed 65 yards in the air and was downed at Kansas City’s three-yard line.
The bad
Offensive line: Like last week in the loss to the Cowboys, the offensive line crumbled, gave Justin Herbert no time to throw early on and as a result, he looked uncomfortable throughout the remainder of the game. In total, the Chiefs sacked Herbert five times and the final sack came from former Chargers linebacker Drue Tranquill. The Chargers miss Corey Linsley dearly.
QB Justin Herbert: The protection woes negatively impacted Herbert’s play, yes. But it would not be accurate to say that’s why he solely struggled on Sunday. As I’ve seen in the past few performances from Herbert, he continued to stare down receivers, struggled to anticipate them getting open, gave defensive backs time to make plays on the ball and missed throws that would usually be routine. The injured middle finger on his non-throwing hand can be attributed to it, but not that much because these issues have seemed to be mental and it’s getting to the point where you have to wonder if it’s the coaching because we have not seen Herbert play like this since entering the league.
The ugly
First-half defense: Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce put together what would typically be end-of-the-game stat lines in just the first half. Mahomes threw for 321 yards and three touchdowns, while Kelce caught all nine of his targets for 143 yards and a score in the first two quarters. The Chargers lived in zone coverage for most of the first half and Mahomes and Kelce made them pay. Mahomes threw for 103 yards and Kelce had just three catches for 36 yards in the second half of the game because they made adjustments and played more man coverage. The fact that this wasn’t the game plan all along is head-scratching.
Second-half offense: The Chargers kept it close with the Chiefs in the first half, despite surrendering 24 points. With how the offense was playing, you would’ve thought that Los Angeles had a chance. That was not the case, however. After Herbert threw his first interception, the offense fell flat, going three and out on three consecutive drives. After their opening possession in the second half, they didn’t get a first down until the final three minutes of the game. A garbage-time touchdown would’ve provided some life, but it resulted in Herbert’s second interception. L.A. has gone scoreless in the second half in two of their last three games. This is a major issue, considering Kellen Moore was brought in to elevate this offense.