Chiefs vs. Chargers: Full Report Card Grades for San Diego
Win No. 6 on the season will have to wait for the San Diego Chargers as the Kansas City Chiefs bested their AFC West rivals, 23-20, in the closing seconds.
Cairo Santos booted a 48-yard field goal with 21 seconds remaining to snap San Diego's five-game win streak, dropping the Bolts to 5-2 in preparation for their highly anticipated matchup with the Denver Broncos on a short week. The Chargers erased a six-point deficit in the final stanza, but a resilient Chiefs squad would not go down on the road.
It's certainly not the end of the line for San Diego, nor does the panic button need to be pushed, but a division loss to rivals hurts more than most.
Here's how the positions graded out.
Quarterback
1 of 10
It's tough to have a chance in games when you're best player isn't on the field, and that was the strategy Kansas City used to beat the Chargers. Philip Rivers had 21 minutes of field time to work with, and six of his 10 drives garnered less than 20 yards.
Pressure from the Chiefs defense also contributed to Rivers' demise as he completed a season-low 54.8 percent of his passes. Tamba Hali and Justin Houston were constantly lurking around every corner, forcing Rivers to rifle off passes earlier than he intended.
On top of the interception he threw on the final drive, Rivers had a ball knocked loose by Hali for a loss of 15 yards that spoiled a drive in the second quarter.
It wasn't his best performance, but it was not entirely his fault either. Rivers earned a small victory for himself in passing Jim Kelly for career TD passes all-time with No. 238 to who else but Antonio Gates.
Grade: C
Running Back
2 of 10
Branden Oliver saw just 15 carries against the Chiefs and finished with 67 yards, falling short of a third straight 100-yard game. To his credit, Oliver performed admirably with a 4.5-yard average and ran the ball with the same physicality he displayed the previous two weeks, but the San Diego offense was unable to sustain drives long enough for the ground game to take effect.
When the Chargers realized that Kansas City was intent on draining the clock, they willingly went toward the passing game in a desperate attempt to keep up. Had San Diego not been forced to play catch up all day, Oliver might have had a better showing.
Grade: B
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
Antonio Gates wowed us with yet another highlight-reel TD catch on Sunday, but it would have been all that much sweeter if San Diego had followed it up with a win.
Malcom Floyd had a couple of big catches for the Bolts, one of which helped the Chargers convert a 3rd-and-14 in the fourth quarter. Keenan Allen had a game-high six catches for 58 yards and was especially helpful in setting up Novak's game-tying field goal—he had three receptions for 36 yards on the 58-yard drive in the final stanza.
John Phillips, who is viewed more as a blocking tight end for San Diego, caught his first TD pass as a Charger (another feat that would have been received better if the Bolts had come out on top, but Kansas City worked its game plan on offense and limited the big plays on defense).
Grade: B
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
We knew Justin Houston and Tamba Hali would be trouble from the start, and it was evident that King Dunlap and D.J. Fluker were overmatched on passing downs. The Chiefs duo had one sack apiece on Philip Rivers, and Hali added a forced fumble.
Kansas City also got pressure along the interior with Dontari Poe, who often forced Rivers to throw on the run instead of stepping up in the pocket, which the Chargers QB has done so well this season. The push from the defensive line led to a lot of stalled drives and eventually put the Chargers in a tight spot late in the game as they were forced to go airborne most of the second half.
Grade: D
Defensive Line
5 of 10
If Sunday had been about tackle numbers, then the defensive line would have been complimented for a well-played game, but missed tackles and crucial errors crushed this unit.
Jamaal Charles looked like he had been dunked in Crisco with the number of times he slipped out of would-be tackles at the line of scrimmage. Kendall Reyes may have had the worst example when Anthony Sherman swung the defensive end like he was a hula hoop and raced in for a touchdown.
And as for the mental errors, Corey Liuget's facemask penalty in the fourth quarter moved the Chiefs from their own 8-yard line to the 32 (the same drive that eventually won the game with the go-ahead field goal). It was a rough day for the Chargers defense all around, but you expect better from this unit that's actually healthy.
Grade: D
Linebacker
6 of 10
Alex Smith was sacked three times, but the number of times he escaped surefire tackles was definitely more than that. San Diego had plenty of chances to end drives, but Smith used his legs to get out of trouble and extend plays for clutch gains.
On the game-winning drive by Kansas City, Dwight Freeney was inches away from bottling up Smith in the backfield, but he escaped, and Donald Butler blew the coverage on Travis Kelce that allowed a 16-yard gain. Kelce added an eight-yard catch on the ensuing play, which set up the field goal for Cairo Santos.
Reggie Walker was cited for a silly roughing-the-passer penalty on 3rd-and-long, and a handful of the San Diego linebackers were victimized by Jamaal Charles in the open field. Sloppy tackling, especially in the fourth quarter, had a lot to do with the disheartening loss.
Grade: D
Secondary
7 of 10
Brandon Flowers and Jamaal Charles went head-to-head quite literally in the second quarter (a play that ended up knocking Flowers out of the game). The Chargers were already without Jason Verrett as it was, and the loss of Flowers made it especially difficult to defend Kansas City's receivers in the second half.
Richard Marshall provided a veteran presence when he subbed in for the injured Flowers, but the Chiefs exposed him late in the game for completions. Jahleel Addae made matters worse when he took out Marshall in an exchange of friendly fire that allowed A.J. Jenkins to pick up 19 yards on a play that should have went no more than three yards.
Eric Weddle posted a game-high 13 tackles, which padded his own stats, but pointed to Kansas City ball-carriers getting past the first and second levels. Marcus Gilchrist might have had the best game of the group, but the play of his colleagues didn't match his efforts. San Diego allowed the Chiefs to pick up 211 yards passing.
Grade: C
Special Teams
8 of 10
Nick Novak made both of his field-goal attempts, including a 48-yard kick that knotted the game at 20-all in the fourth quarter, but he never got an opportunity to tie it up a second time. Mike Scifres booted five punts and was forced to kick within his own 30-yard line on all five.
Kick coverage didn't allow De'Anthony Thomas to take one back to the house for a score, but a mistake from a usually reliable name gave the Chiefs better field position in the second quarter. Seyi Ajirotutu, who is one of San Diego's better special teamers, was hit with a facemask penalty that moved Kansas City from its own 19-yard line down to the 34 (the same drive that ended becoming a touchdown for Jamaal Charles).
Grade: B
Coaching
9 of 10
Andy Reid seemed to have all the answers for chipping away at John Pagano's defense. The Chiefs had the ball on offense for 39 minutes and wore down the San Diego front seven with 39 rushing attempts for 154 yards. As for pressure on the quarterback, Pagano's unit did a lot better job getting to Alex Smith compared to last week against Derek Carr in Oakland, but his players failed to finish the job and bring Smith down.
In his defense, Pagano's group was missing two of its top corners in Jason Verrett, who didn't play, and Brandon Flowers, who left the game early. Kavell Conner, who has been playing in relief of Manti Te'o, was also injured on Sunday.
Frank Reich and Mike McCoy, meanwhile, were baffled by Kansas City's game plan. For the last five weeks, Philip Rivers and the Chargers offense have had their way with defenses and chalked up almost 30 points a game, but when their own strategy was used against them, it was difficult to respond with a counter. They were 3-of-10 on third-down conversions—not the type of execution San Diego was looking for.
Grade: D
Final Grades
10 of 10
| Positional Unit | Grade |
| Quarterback | C |
| Running Back | B |
| WR and TE | B |
| Offensive Line | D |
| Defensive Line | D |
| Linebacker | D |
| Secondary | C |
| Special Teams | B |
| Coaching | D |
| Cumulative Grade | C- |
After suffering their first loss in divisional play, the Chargers will head to Denver on a shortened week for a Thursday night affair with the Broncos, who haven't skipped a beat since reaching the Super Bowl last season. A year ago, San Diego pulled off the unthinkable by defeating Denver, 27-20, on Thursday Night Football, and just like it was last season, a win on the road will be harder than ever to come by.
Sunday's loss to the Chiefs should serve as a reality check to the Bolts, who were on cloud nine during their five-game win streak. If the Broncos take note of Kansas City's wining strategy and implement it in Thursday's contest, San Diego could be looking at another loss before the bye week, which comes after a road game against the Miami Dolphins.
Hopefully, San Diego addresses its weaknesses during practice this week and return some injured players in the process.
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