Chiefs fans had to get a kick out of the NFL’s latest attempt to dress up the Chargers’ misery.
Los Angeles is in a brutal spot, and the league’s official social media account only made it more awkward by celebrating a Justin Herbert highlight while the Chargers were getting buried 31-9 by the Houston Texans. Herbert finally hit KeAndre Lambert-Smith on a deep throw on fourth down in their own territory, but the post landed like a joke because the game was already out of hand.
Then, on the very next possession after that big play, the Chargers found Quentin Johnston for a touchdown. It snapped a stretch of 37 possessions without reaching the end zone, but by then Los Angeles was already down 29 points. Not exactly the kind of momentum the NFL was hoping to sell.
That’s the strange backdrop for a Chargers team that entered the year with Super Bowl expectations and now sits at 0-8, looking nothing like a contender. Jim Harbaugh, Justin Herbert and Mike McDaniel were supposed to give this group a real edge, but the results have been ugly enough to make the whole thing feel upside down.
Herbert, once viewed as the quarterback most likely to challenge Patrick Mahomes’ hold on the AFC West, has only six touchdowns and 11 interceptions this season. With nine figures still left on his contract, the climb out of this hole looks massive.
And the supposed Harbaugh edge hasn’t shown up either. Instead of a team that feels sharp and disciplined, the Chargers have looked disorganized and stuck.
Kansas City, for all its own flaws, is in a far better place. The Chiefs rolled past the New York Jets 35-12, even though it didn’t feel like they were at their best in the first half. Kenneth Walker III waking up on the ground in the second half helped swing things, and Steve Spagnuolo’s defense shut down a Jets offense that had hit a few chunk plays.
Most importantly, Mahomes looked like Mahomes again, even while taking some heavy hits. That matters, especially with the Chargers now drawing sympathy posts from the NFL account and scrambling for anything that resembles a positive storyline.
For Chiefs fans, the contrast is easy to laugh at. One team is 6-2 and trying to steady itself for a postseason push. The other is getting propped up by the league while it sinks deeper into a season that already looks lost.
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What stood out most was the way Kenneth Walker III fit into the offense, turning his touches into a major problem for the Jets. He ran for 102 yards and scored three times, giving the Chiefs a versatile threat who changed the game in more than one way. For a team looking to keep its offense dangerous and unpredictable, that kind of production is exactly the sort of development that can open things up for Mahomes going forward. [Read more 🡒]
Mahomes And Kelce Just Added To Their Chiefs Legacy
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What makes this latest milestone stand out is how long the connection has lasted and how little it has faded. Mahomes and Kelce are into their ninth season together, and the chemistry between them has become such a fixture in Kansas City that it now sits alongside the leagues all-time marks for a quarterback-tight end tandem, a reminder that their story is still being written even as the records keep falling. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Blowout Offered A Telling Look At One Buried Young Player
The Chiefs lopsided win over the Jets in Week 9 created the kind of game where snap counts tell a story all their own. With starters coming off the field early and backups getting extended run, Kansas City had a chance to sort through its younger players, especially at receiver and tight end, where the rotation has been fluid and the staff has been searching for answers behind the established options.
One of the more interesting developments was the way the Chiefs continue to handle their young wideouts, with Andrew Armstrong, Cyrus Allen and Jalen Royals all being worked into the mix in similar fashion. The same kind of evaluation has been happening on the defensive side, where Jeffrey Bassa has barely seen the field while Ashton Gillotte has picked up more work since returning from injury, leaving the Chiefs with a clearer look at some young pieces and a murkier picture on others. [Read more 🡒]