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RECAP - CHARGERS HANG ON, EDGE CHIEFS, 21-16
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Mucho Thanks to my brother Walt (Oakland) for subbing in for the Chiefs Robert Baker. We (myself and Robert) had connectivity issues and Robert kindly consented to me seeking a sub.
Uncharted Territory: Chargers in Playoff Hunt
Kansas City, March 13th, 2021: The Chargers opened up a 14-3 lead in the first 16 minutes of the game but then watched their offense go flat for most of the remainder of the contest. Fortunately for the Chargers, the defense came through and Daniel Jones came up with one big play in the fourth quarter to keep Kansas City at bay, 21-16.
The victory put the Chargers at 7-3, while Kansas City fell to 2-8. Those seven wins are one more than the Chargers could muster in any prior season under Hank Sienzant.
Rookie quarterback Kyler Murray was the Chiefs offense in this one, accounting for 179 net passing yards and adding another 77 on the ground to lead the Chiefs in rushing.
Fellow rookie quarterback Daniel Jones led the Chargers on two long touchdown drives in the first half. The first went for 78 yards on nine plays ending in a David Montgomery six-yard run. The key plays were a Jones completion to Keelan Cole for 22 on 3rd and eight followed immediately by a Jones scramble for 20 (with an 11-yard facemask penalty added in) to get the ball to the Chiefs 11-yard line.
The second Charger scoring drive went 92 yards in just four plays. It was sparked by rookie wideout Steven Sims' 57-yard jet sweep to the Chiefs 17. On second and 10 from there, Jones found Keelan Cole for the score on a fly pass near the goal line.
That was pretty much the Chargers offense for the day until the fourth quarter when the Charger offense made one brief cameo. On first and ten from their own 41, after a Chiefs punt, Daniel Jones found Courtland Sutton across the middle and Sutton took a circuitous route to the end zone to score from 59 yards out. That score made it 21-10 with 12:45 left in the game. The Chargers needed that score as it was the only Charger play from offense sandwiched between Chief drives that combined took over 12 minutes off the clock and ran 21 plays against the Charger offense but accounted for no points.
This was a trap game for the Chargers, with San Diego expected to handle the Chiefs easily. However, the Chargers this year have shown a propensity to play both up and down to the competition.
The Chiefs Kyler Murray engineered a scoring drive on their second possession, after taking over at midfield following an exchange of punts to start the game. That drive gained only 14 yards in eight plays, but that was enough to put Brandon McManus in range for a 54-yard field goal to give the Chiefs the early lead.
Once the Chiefs fell behind 14-3 in the second quarter, Kansas City scored a touchdown of their own, driving 75 in ten plays and taking 6:03 off the clock, with Kyler Murray taking it over from a yard out for the score. The biggest play of the march was Murray finding Albert Wilson running free on a check-down, with Wilson then scooting 51 yards to the Charger 11 yard line.
After falling behind in the fourth quarter 21-10, Murray led Kansas City on another scoring drive, moving his team 62 yards in 11 plays to score on his 10-yard quarterback sneak, his second rushing touchdown of the game. But his two-point bootleg attempt that could have cut the Chargers lead to only three points failed, leaving the Chiefs down by five at 21-16.
The Chiefs got the ball back with 1:54 to go, needing only 42 yards for the game-winning touchdown, but the first two plays of the possession lost eight yards. The Chiefs were unable to overcome that, failing to convert a fourth and seven from the Charger 39 and turning the ball back over on downs to the Chargers with no timeouts left.
GAME NOTES: This was Homecoming Day for Chiefs wideout Albert Wilson. Wilson was traded by San Diego to the Chiefs for a sixth-round pick after week four this season. He sought and got a large helping of revenge for the deal, catching seven passes for 111 yards (15.9). It was his best game this year. But it did not top his best in weeks five and six last year when he put up back-to-games of 150 and 152 yards and scored four touchdowns in those two games.
Wideout Keelan Cole, whose acquisition from Buffalo for guard Ben Powers led to the Chargers trading Wilson, was a major contributor today, returning two kickoffs for 89 yards and catching three passes for another 51. That was a total of 140 all-purpose yards. It was his best game in a Charger uniform to date.
Quarterback Daniel Jones had a mixed bag of a game, with two turnovers in the contest (one lost fumble and one interception). But he also threw for 193 yards on just 12 completions on 22 passes, taking one sack, and being credited with a 95.5 passer rating. He also scrambled three times for 21 yards.
Kyler Murray had little help outside of Albert Wilson. Murray threw 39 times, completing twice as many as Jones, but gained only 206 passing and took four sacks. His passer rating was only 75.4. He did add 77 yards on 13 rushing attempts (5.9), scoring both the Chief touchdowns.
Courtland Sutton was the Chargers leading receiver with 94 yards on three catches, with a 59-yarder for a touchdown in the fourth quarter his greatest contribution in the game.
Josh Jacobs gained 60 yards on 14 rushes (4.3 yards per rushing attempt), with David Montgomery being held in check outside of his six-yard touchdown run, picking up only 10 yards on seven rushes (1.4). He did catch two passes for an additional 17 yards.
Linebacker Cory Littleton had eight tackles to lead the Chiefs, adding one stuff.
The MVP of the contest - believe it or not - was Chargers defensive end Stephen Weatherly. Weatherly had eight tackles, four stuffs, two sacks, and a hurry. His pass rush also forced the Chiefs right tackle, Caleb McGary, into two holding penalties. Weatherly, generally perceived as a below-average defensive end, had his best game in a Charger uniform and perhaps the best game of his career.
Both kickers missed a chip-shot field goal, with McManus missing a 31-yarder in the second quarter that could have made it 14-6, and Stephen Hauschka missing from 33 yards out after the Chargers moved to the Chiefs 15 to start the second half. McManus surprisingly made only one of three, making it from 54 yards to start the contest, but missing from 31 and 48 yards later on in the game. Those two misses were the difference in the game.
TEAMS IN OPPOSITION: The Chargers vaunted running game was pretty much shut down by the Chiefs - outside of Steven Sims' 57 yard gain on a jet sweep - gaining "only" 148 yards on the ground. Most teams would be happy with that number, but San Diego entered the contest averaging 193.7 yards per game, so that was 45 yards off their normal pace. And subtracting out that one 57-yard gain by Sims, the Chargers gained only 91 yards on 26 rushes, an average of just 3.5 yards per rush.
The Chiefs dominated the statistical battle, with leads in first downs (19-14), time of possession (37-23), takeaways (2-0), and plays (76-50), but the Chargers had the edge in yards from scrimmage (338-294).
SEASON TO DATE: Let's give a little attention to the defensive side of the ball for a change. Matt Ioannidis is tied for fourth in quarterback pressures with 15, while three defensive backs are in the top seven in other categories. Cornerback Marshon Lattime is fifth in tackles and fellow cornerback Levi Wallace is fifth in Opponent's Completion Percentage, allowing just 48.5% of passes thrown against him to be completed. Rookie safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, meanwhile, is tied for seventh in passes defensed with nine, despite splitting time with Vonn Bell and Tracy Walker.
Back on the offensive side of the ball, Daniel Jones dropped to eighth among qualifiers with a 111.7 passer rating, the highest among the first-round rookie quarterbacks. He is tied for fourth in the league with 24 touchdown passes. Josh Jacobs is fourth in rushing with 881 yards and David Montgomery is 15th with 613. Both Jacobs and Montgomery are rookies. Courtland Sutton is eighth in receiving yardage with 794 yards and leads the league with a 22.1 yards per catch receiving average. He's tied for first with 11 touchdown receptions.
On special teams, JoJo Natson is fifth with an 8.7 yards per punt return average. Rookie wideout Steven Sims is averaging 29.5 yards per kickoff return, good for sixth in the league.
NEXT MAN UP: Chargers' seldom-used wideout Devin Smith went down with a concussion on a 15-yard reception early in the game and lay motionless for minutes before being carted off. He may be shut down for the remainder of the season. As the fifth wideout among six, his roster spot may be endangered. Kansas City lost tight end Hunter Henry for the next two or three weeks with a finger injury. Back in the old days, Ronnie Lott would have taken a meat cleaver to the finger and kept playing.
A LOOK AHEAD: The Chiefs stay home to host the 7-2 (as of this writing) New England Patriots. The Chargers will go back to San Diego to face off against the 1-9 Atlanta Falcons, in what appears from here to be another trap game. A victory against Atlanta gets the Chargers to eight wins and guarantees the Chargers a non-losing season, which would be a first in four seasons under Hank Sienzant. These two teams faced off in Atlanta in week four, with the Chargers coming away with a 35-24 victory. Last year the two teams split their series, each winning at home. Last year at this time the Chargers were 3-7, before finishing 6-10. Over their last 16 games, including their final six last season, the Chargers are 10-6.
Posted on 14 Mar 2021 by Hank-Chargers
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