September 30 – Samaje Perine broke the tie with a short touchdown run in the fourth quarter and Patrick Mahomes overcame a slow start with 245 yards passing to lead the visitors. The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Los Angeles Chargers 17–17.
Mahomes completed 19 of 29 passes, including a touchdown and an interception, and overpowered receiver Rushie Rice, who caught 24 passes in the team’s first three games but lost the ball early. Rice left the game in the first quarter of Sunday’s game with a knee injury and did not return.
ESPN later reported that the team was concerned about Rice’s torn ACL.
Travis Kelce took the ball in Rice’s absence and set a season-high with seven catches for 89 yards, and Perine put Kansas City (4-0) ahead with a 2-yard score with 6:04 remaining in the game.
Justin Herbert completed 16 of 27 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown for Los Angeles (2-2), holding the team to just 224 total yards and 12 first downs.
The pregame narrative centered on how Los Angeles would respond to a weak offensive line, which included missing a starting tackle due to injury in last week’s 20-10 loss to Pittsburgh.
But thanks in large part to Kansas City’s turnovers, the Chargers still got off to a fast start. Less than two minutes into the game, Los Angeles took a 7-0 lead by driving 74 yards after losing the ball on its 26th possession, ending with Herbert’s 7-yard touchdown pass to rookie Ladd McConkey).
Christian Fulton intercepted Mahomes on the Chiefs’ next possession. Mahomes hit Rice in the knee with the helmet facing down while trying to tackle Fulton. Rice was sent out and Cameron Dicker’s 50-yard field goal soon made it 10-0.
Kansas City resumed its first drive after a punt with 4:06 left in the first half. Mahomes threw a bomb that Xavier Worthy caught for a 54-yard score. The Chiefs had a chance to score again before halftime, but two holding penalties forced a 65-yard field goal attempt and Harrison Butker missed a field goal as the game ended.
——Visual-level media
