After rallying from a 13-point halftime deficit, the Chargers were left with a familiar, unwelcome sight.
Patrick Mahomes leading a game-winning, clock-bleeding drive.
The Kansas City Chiefs kicked a game-winning field goal off the upright to clinch their ninth consecutive AFC West title with a 19-17 win Sunday as the Chargers (8-5) lost their seventh consecutive game to their divisional rival.
Quarterback Justin Herbert, who left the game briefly in the second quarter with a left leg injury, threw for 213 yards and one touchdown. He led a fourth-quarter drive that chewed up 8:29 over 14 plays and 57 yards, but the one-point advantage from a 37-yard field goal from Cameron Dicker was no match for Mahomes.
On third and seven with 2 minutes remaining, the quarterback rolled out to his right, dodged an arm tackle from Chargers’ leading tackler Daiyan Henley and found tight end Travis Kelce open underneath for nine yards.
Kelce cradled the ball close to his stomach while Mahomes sashayed back to the line of scrimmage, emphatically pointing toward the field while hyping up the crowd at Arrowhead Stadium.
Two kneel-downs later, the Chiefs won as Matthew Wright’s 31-yard kick bounced off the left upright and through the goal posts. The crowd gasped as smoke from red and gold fireworks filled the air.
Mahomes threw for 210 yards and one touchdown while completing 24 of 37 attempts as the Chiefs (12-1) won their 10th one-possession game this season.
The Chargers opened the game with five consecutive punts, falling behind 13-0 by halftime. They went 16 consecutive drives without a touchdown, a drought that encompassed last week’s win over the Atlanta Falcons.
At halftime, Taylor Heinicke, who entered the game for one play after Herbert injured his leg, was the Chargers’ leading rusher. He picked up 12 yards on a third-and-20 scramble.
The Chargers emphatically ended a touchdown drought that had reached 16 consecutive drives by finding the end zone on back-to-back drives to open the third quarter.
The sudden surge erased a 13-0 halftime deficit. With a three-yard touchdown run from Gus Edwards and a four-yard touchdown catch from Quentin Johnston, the Chargers scored more than seven points in a third quarter for the first time this season.