A 34-yard catch-and-run touchdown by Travis Kelce through the defense of the Los Angeles Chargers gave the Kansas City Chiefs a 34-28 overtime victory on Thursday night.
Kelce caught the eventual game-winning pass over the middle of the field only about five yards from the line of scrimmage. Kelce threw on the brakes, cut back, and then sliced through the defense into the end zone to hand the Chargers another heartbreaking home loss. Kansas CIty beat the Chargers in Los Angeles in overtime last year as well, 23-20, on a 58-yard Harrison Butker field goal.
Kelce caught 10 passes for a career-high 191 yards and two touchdowns to carry the Chiefs to the win. Patrick Mahomes threw for 410 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. All three of Mahomes’ touchdowns came in the fourth quarter or overtime.
The Chiefs jumped out to a 10-0 lead over Los Angeles before trailing at halftime.
Fullback Michael Burton scored on a 7-yard touchdown run and Butker delivered a 30-yard field goal to build the Kansas City lead.
Justin Herbert ran for a 1-yard touchdown, and Jalen Guyton caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Herbert to give Los Angeles a 14-10 lead. The Chargers would twice have drives turned away inside the 5-yard line during the half with a pair of failed fourth down tries left points on the board.
Following a 33-yard Butker field goal made it 14-13, Los Angeles would turn it over on downs again on the first drive of the third quarter as a fourth-and-2 throw for Jared Cook came up empty.
After a Mahomes interception set up a quick touchdown from the Los Angeles Chargers to extend their lead, the Kansas City Chiefs struck back quickly with a touchdown from Tyreek Hill to tie the game at 21-21 with eight minutes left to play.
After turning the ball over three times — twice on downs and once on a fumble — inside the Chiefs’ 5-yard line, Austin Ekeler scored on a 2-yard touchdown run to push the Chargers lead to eight with over nine minutes left to play.
A fumble by Joshua Kelley at the goal line on L.A.’s prior possession thwarted another scoring chance for the Chargers before Uchenna Nwosu tipped a pass from Patrick Mahomes to himself for an interception to give the Chargers the ball back inside the 5. It took just the one play from Ekeler to crack the end zone.
Despite going for fourth down conversions five times on the night, the Chargers elected against going for a two-point conversion try to make it a two-score game. Dustin Hopkins extra point made it a 21-13 game.
A 69-yard completion from Mahomes to Travis Kelce on third-and-10 sparked a quick response from the Chiefs. The play moved Kansas City to the Chargers’ 1-yard line. Tyreek Hill caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Mahomes two plays later with a successful two-point connection from Mahomes to Clyde Edwards-Helaire to tie the game at 21-21 with just under eight minutes remaining.
The Chargers responded with an 11-play, 75-yard scoring drive to retake the lead with 2:19 left to play. A stellar 15-yard catch from Josh Palmer was the highlight of the drive before a laser throw from Herbert to Keenan Allen for an 8-yard touchdown put the Chargers back on top.
The big-play Chiefs offense fired back. A 20-yard completion from Mahomes to Hill on third-and-10 got the drive moving before Mahomes scrambled untouched for 32 yards to the Chargers’ 7-yard line. Mahomes and Kelce hooked up for the tying score to make it 28-28 with 1:16 left to play.
Both teams would come up empty on their final possessions of regulation before the Chiefs won on the opening drive of the extra frame.
Herbert threw for 236 yards with two touchdowns and an interception for the Chargers. Los Angeles rushed for a season-high 192 yards behind 86 yards from Justin Jackson and 59 yards and a touchdown from Ekeler.
Hill caught 12 passes for 148 yards and a touchdown for Kansas City.