Defense carries Chiefs to victory in season finale over Chargers
Tyler Brown
Most of the storyline of the final game of the regular season took place before it even started, as many of the Chiefs' key players did not suit up for the game. Win or lose, Kansas City would be the three-seed while they waited to see what happened around the league to find out who the six-seed would be.
We now know that the Miami Dolphins (11-6) solidified themselves as the sixth seed and will be headed to Arrowhead for Super Wild Card Weekend. To prepare for that, and to prevent a catastrophic injury the Kansas City Chiefs (11-6) head coach Andy Reid chose to sit quarterback Patrick Mahomes, tight end Travis Kelce, cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, wide receiver Rashee Rice, amongst others against the Los Angeles Chargers (5-12).
Kansas City's backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert and company did not set the world on fire, but they did enough to go out and close the season in the win column against their division rival. With wide receiver Mecole Hardman and another dominant performance by the Chiefs defense leading the way, Kansas City defeated the Chargers 13-12 in the season finale. With the Chiefs down two, kicker Harrison Butker converted a game-winning field goal with 49 seconds to go.
"Those are the situations that you want to be in,” Gabbert said. “When it matters most, no matter what happened to that point in time, you have to execute at a high level and go win a football game. Fortunately, our defense played great all day and we had an opportunity there to go win it and we executed when it mattered the most."
Kelce, Rice and running back Isiah Pacheco all had key milestones to play for today but Reid chose to prioritize health above the accolades. Kelce needed 16 yards to reach his eighth consecutive 1,000-yard season, Rice needed 62 yards to capture his first 1,000-yard season and Pacheco was 65 away from his first as well.
One superstar who did not sit out was defensive tackle Chris Jones. Jones needed half a sack to reach a $1.25 million incentive bonus. Reid said after the game that Jones wanted the opportunity to get that done and it was evident how badly Jones wanted it. In limited snaps, he tallied not just a sack but registered four quarterback hits. Nearly the entire Kansas City sideline celebrated the occasion with him as Jones emphatically sprinted to the sideline after the third down sack.
While Jones had a financial incentive to play for, Kelce had a legacy-building opportunity to play for. He would have been just the 17th player of all time to have eight straight 1,000-yard seasons. Kelce is a Hall of Fame lock regardless but it has been no secret that he has been a little banged up this year so he wanted to use this opportunity to do what was best for the team.
"Travis [Kelce] is a humble, humble guy,” Reid said. “It's different because of the financial part of it with Chris [Jones]. He didn't want to be selfish or come across as selfish — everyone, all the players wanted him to play but he just goes, 'You know what I don't like the way it feels.' He's not into that and so he chose not to play. I completely understand it but that's him, most guys would have gone out a probably done it but he said, 'I've had a lot of records and this one here, I'm not going to do it this way.'
It is now official that the Chiefs' defense finished second in the NFL in yards per game given up and third in points allowed per game. It has been by far the best defense that Reid has fielded in his time in Kansas City and here in week 18 against the Chargers, they carried the team to victory again.
The Chiefs got out to a quick 7-0 lead in the first quarter after defensive end Charles Omenihu caused a sack-fumble that safety Mike Edwards recovered and ran back for a 97-yard touchdown. The Kansas City defense, which featured second-string players most of the day, forced Los Angeles to go 0-3 in the red zone, holding the Chargers to just four field goals on the day.
Rookie undrafted free agent linebacker Cam Jones led the Chiefs in tackles with 12. Jones had been mostly a special teamer thus far throughout the season before he was thrust into the starting role. With Sneed out and cornerback Trent McDuffie not seeing the field, it was Jaylen Watson who shut down Chargers wide receivers this week, registering two passes defended.
Along with Chris Jones and Omenihu, third-year defensive end Malik Herring registered the Chiefs' third sack. The 2023 first-round pick out of Kansas State, Felix Anudike-Uzomah saw regular snaps for the first time all season and finished with two tackles for a loss and three total playing off the edge.
"That was a nice job by our defense,” Reid said. “The coordinators had simplified things down so that the guys could play fast and that's what they did. That was good, that was a good thing."
Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman, fresh off a five-game absence and a game last week where he only played five snaps, made his presence felt early and often Sunday afternoon. The Chiefs could use another wide receiver to step up in the playoffs and the fifth-year wideout showed he could be part of that rotation after hauling in six catches for 77 yards.
"I thought he did a nice job out there, a couple things he can work on,” Reid said. “He played hard and it was a good experience for him to get out there. Kind of getting back into that football shape play after play after play. We'll see where it goes from there. We know Mecole [Hardman] and we know what he can do. I think that getting out and playing was the biggest thing for him. He hadn't had a chance to do that."
Another veteran who stepped up big was running back La’Mical Perine. It was much-needed work for the Florida product because, with Jerick McKinnon out at least one more week, Perine will be active on the Chiefs playoff roster as the third tailback. Perine rushed for 76 yards on 21 carries behind a makeshift offensive line. He also caught three balls for 33 yards.
Overall, Gabbert finished with a line of 154 yards, going 15 for 30, with no touchdowns and an interception. It was Gabbert’s first start in the National Football League since December of 2018. Hardman and Perine were the two leading receivers and wide receiver Justyn Ross finished third catching two balls on for targets for 17 yards.
As far as injuries go, rookie left tackle Wanya Morris exited the game against the Chargers and is in the concussion protocol. Justyn Ross left the game with a hamstring injury and Jaylen Watson also sustained a calf injury.
Sunday night the Buffalo Bills defeated the Miami Dolphins, causing the Dolphins to land as the Chiefs' opponent next weekend in the first round of the playoffs. The game will be at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday at 7 p.m. CDT. The game will be exclusively streamed on Peacock but according to reports, it should also be broadcast on KSHB 41 in Kansas City.
