The Los Angeles Chargers are winners in Brazil to start the 2025 NFL season, as they took down the Kansas City Chiefs, 27-21, on Friday night.
The Chiefs had won the previous seven matchups against their AFC West rival, but Justin Herbert and the Chargers were done with that streak as they played nearly flawless football in São Paulo, Brazil.
The Chiefs lost a key player on offense just three plays into the game, as Xavier Worthy collided with Travis Kelce and suffered a shoulder injury that knocked him out the rest of the game. Worthy figured to be a top target for Mahomes, with head coach Andy Reid noting he had a good gameplan for the second-year receiver in this game.
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Without him, the Chiefs sputtered on offense to start the game, but Herbert and the Chargers were locked in from kickoff.
They got off to a hot start with a seven-play touchdown drive capped by a five-yard strike from Herbert to Quentin Johnston to quickly make it 7-0 in the fourth quarter. Cameron Dicker would add his first field goal of the season to make it 10-0, while the Chiefs punted on its first three drives.
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It was all field goals in the second quarter for both teams, but the most exciting one was Harrison Butker knocking home a 59-yard field goal just as time was expiring. It was a fire drill for the Chiefs, as Noah Gray wasn’t deemed out of bounds, and the special teams unit has to rush on the field and snap the ball with nine seconds left in the first half.
It was an uncharacteristic first half for Kansas City’s offense, but they would quickly right the ship with their first drive of the second half. Mahomes led the way, going 80 yards in 11 plays where he would scamper into the end zone for the Chiefs’ first touchdown of the season.
But Herbert and the Chargers would respond, running a 12-play drive that took up almost eight minutes of clock where he found his old friend Keenan Allen, who resigned with Los Angeles this offseason, for the touchdown to make it 20-12.
The fourth quarter was the most thrilling in this Brazilian bout, as Travis Kelce sprung free for a 37-yard touchdown catch-and-run for his first score of the year. That made it 20-18, as the Chiefs failed to convert their two-point try.
All the momentum was with Kansas City, but once again, the Chargers responded against their divisional foe. Herbert ran to his right on the Kansas City 23-yard line and slung a sidearm pass to Johnston for his second touchdown of the game.
The 27-18 gap was needed midway through the fourth quarter, as Mahomes would launch a 49-yard pass on the run to Marquise "Hollywood" Brown on fourth-and-7 to put the Chiefs in the red zone. They had to settle for a field goal, but they were within a touchdown and needed a stop on defense.
But the story of this game was Herbert doing exactly what was needed to respond to the Chiefs, and he did so on a crucial third-and-14, scrambling outside the pocket and going 19 yards to seal the win in Brazil.
Herbert was phenomenal for the Chargers, as he went 25-for-34 for 318 yards and three touchdowns in the win. Johnston finished with 79 yards on five catches, while Ladd McConkey had six catches for 74 yards. Allen also had seven catches for 68 yards and a score.
For the Chiefs, Mahomes went 24-for-39 through the air for 258 yards and a touchdown, while leading the team on the ground with 57 yards rushing on six carries. Brown had 10 catches for 99 yards, while Kelce had just two catches for 47 yards and a touchdown.
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