The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Los Angeles Chargers, 19-17, in yet another thriller on Sunday night that came down to the very end.
Trailing by a single point with just over four minutes remaining in the game, quarterback Patrick Mahomes engineered a 14-play, 47-yard drive that culminated in a 31-yard, game-winning field goal by kicker Matthew Wright that bounced off the left upright and through the goal posts as time expired.
"I wanted it to go right down the middle, obviously," said a smiling Wright following the game. "I'm just happy it went in."
The kick secured the Chiefs' 12th victory of the season and locked up a ninth-straight AFC West title while also maintaining Kansas City's grasp on the top seed in the conference. In fact, due to Buffalo's loss earlier in the day, Kansas City's lead in the AFC actually grew on Sunday night by a game.
"It's our first goal every single year – to win the AFC West," Mahomes said. "[This] was an important game for us against a really good football team. We found a way to get a win, but now we have to keep building if we want to get to our ultimate goal."
Mahomes completed 24-of-37 passes for 210 yards and a touchdown in the game, finding wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins for a 9-yard score in the final minute of the first half.
The touchdown meant that Kansas City carried a 13-point lead into the break after shutting out the Chargers through the first two quarters of play, but Los Angeles stormed back in the third quarter to take a one-point lead following consecutive touchdown drives.
Kansas City then answered with a 50-yard field goal by Wright on the Chiefs' ensuing drive that reclaimed the lead, but the Chargers responded right back with a go-ahead, 37-yard field goal of their own a series later.
It was nearly worse, however, as Los Angeles drove all the way to the Chiefs' 17-yard line before defensive lineman Tershawn Wharton sacked Chargers' quarterback Justin Herbert for a loss of seven yards on second down. The sack essentially stalled the Chargers' drive and forced a field goal attempt two snaps later, and while the kick briefly put Los Angeles back in front, it also meant that Mahomes and company only needed a field goal to win the game.
Kansas City started its final drive at the 40-yard line after a kickoff infraction by the Chargers, and 14 snaps and three third-down conversions later, Wright secured the victory for the Chiefs.
Mahomes converted a 3rd-and-10 early in the series with a 14-yard pass to wide receiver Xavier Worthy and later found tight end Travis Kelce for another critical third-down conversion deep in Chargers' territory. The latter throw, which took place on 3rd-and-7 and picked up nine yards, meant that Kansas City could kick the go-ahead field goal as time expired rather than providing Los Angeles with a chance to answer.
"[The Chargers] did a good job of covering [the third-down play], and then Trav just played ball and got himself open," Mahomes said. "We were able to find a way to get that throw to Trav there and get the first down."
The win marked the Chiefs' 15th straight victory in games that were decided by one score dating back to last season, extending their NFL record. It was also Kansas City's seventh game this year that came down to the final few snaps, and remarkably, Wright is now the third kicker – joining Harrison Butker and Spencer Shrader – to connect on a walk-off, game-winning field goal for Kansas City this year.
"As long as we have a chance to go out there and have the football and make a play happen, I feel like we're going to make it happen," Mahomes said. "[We] gave Matthew the chance to kick the field goal, and he knocked it through."
The Chiefs will now turn the page to a matchup with the Cleveland Browns next Sunday.
