The Kansas City Chiefs are masters of the American West.
A 19-17 win thanks to Matthew Wright’s dramatic 35-yard field goal on Sunday night’s final drive against the Los Angeles Chargers helped Kansas City improve to 12-1 on the season. to secure the division title.
Late in the game, Wright’s field goal attempt hit the post, but the ball deflected favorably and the Chiefs added the winning three points.
“I’m happy to have succeeded, but I would have preferred to send the ball into the middle of the two posts. Three points, still three points! “, Wright said after the match on NBC.
The Chiefs are division champions for a ninth straight season.
Kansas City has won each of its last 15 games that ended in one possession, including the playoffs. This season, 10 of the Chiefs’ 12 wins have been by a margin of seven points or less.
“We know that every game will be close, that prepares us for the playoffs,” said Chris Jones. The matches will be similar, they will be close scores which can end in a field goal. We know how to win at the end of the match. »
Patrick Mahomes completed 24 passes for 210 yards and threw a touchdown pass to DeAndre Hopkins. Wright was a big help with four successful field goals.
With his touchdown pass, Mahomes approached Peyton Manning’s record of 253 total touchdowns before the age of 30 – touchdown passes and rushing touchdowns combined. Mahomes has 252.
“We believe in ourselves. It’s not just one group, it’s everyone – the offense, the defense and the special teams. I was happy Matt was able to make the field goal,” Mahomes said.
Justin Herbert did well in the Chargers camp with 21 completed passes, 213 yards and a touchdown pass to Quentin Johnston.
Johnston was at the heart of a group of receivers that stepped up to compensate for the absence of Ladd McConkey due to injury. Johnston rushed for 48 yards, while Joshua Palmer and Stone Smartt added 78 and 54 yards respectively.
The Chiefs will face the Cleveland Browns next Sunday, while the Chargers have a meeting with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The start of the match was a real spectacle of clearances. No less than eight punts were made during the first ten offensive sequences, while the other two were capped by field goals of 47 and 33 yards from Matthew Wright to give Kansas City a 6-0 lead.
The Chargers held their breath late in the second quarter, when Herbert took a tackle and remained on the ground. Nick Bolton’s elbow appeared to hit Herbert’s thigh upon contact and it took a while for the quarterback to get up. Herbert was, however, able to get back into the match.
As he often does, Mahomes had a strong end to the half to increase the Chiefs’ lead. The quarterback was effective in leading a 77-yard drive that ended with a nine-yard touchdown pass to Hopkins, giving KC a 13-0 lead midway through the game.
The return to action in the second half of the game was up to Herbert and the Chargers. The quarterback led runs of 79 and 74 yards that allowed Edwards and Johnston to score majors and put the Chargers back in control.
After seeing the Chiefs regain a two-point lead with a field goal, Herbert controlled much of the fourth quarter. He led a sequence of more than eight minutes that allowed Cameron Dicker to make a 37-yard field goal to put Los Angeles in command 17-16.
But Mahomes played like Mahomes late in the game. He first showed the extent of his talent for managing the remaining time in the heart of his offensive sequence, before completing a crucial nine-yard pass to Travis Kelce to score a first down with less than two minutes to play.
The Chiefs then ran out the remaining time, before seeing Wright make a field goal on the last play of the game to give Kansas City the victory.
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