Travis Kelce's 37-yard TD gets Chiefs back within 20-18
Travis Kelce scored only three touchdowns in 2024, the second-fewest of his career next to his rookie season when he had none in one game appearance. He already has one touchdown this season.
Kelce scored a 37-yard touchdown on a pass from Patrick Mahomes with 12:04 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Chiefs went for two points to try to tie it, and Mahomes' pass intended for Noah Gray fell incomplete as Teair Tart broke it up.
Earlier in the game, Tart had an open-handed slap into the facemask of Kelce, drawing a 15-yard penalty.
The Chargers now lead 20-18.
Kelce has two catches for 47 yards, and Mahomes has completed 20 of 31 passes for 194 yards. Mahomes also has run for 57 yards and a touchdown on six carries.
Patrick Mahomes' TD run draws Chiefs within 13-12 of Chargers
The Chiefs running backs have only eight carries for 34 yards. Patrick Mahomes has five carries for 52 yards, and his 11-yard touchdown run has drawn the Chiefs to within a point of the Chargers.
Mahomes took over on the Chiefs' first drive of the second half after the Chargers went three-and-out to start the half.
He ran for 37 yards and threw for 43 in the 80-yard drive, overcoming two penalties on offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor.
Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, who made a 59-yard field goal on the final play of the first half, missed the extra point. That leaves the Chiefs trailing the Chargers 13-12.
Mahomes has completed 17 of 27 passes for 141 yards.
Chargers rookie RB Omarion Hampton makes big mistake, allows Chiefs a frenetic field goal
Los Angeles Chargers running back Omarion Hampton had a critical mistake late in the first half against the Chiefs. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
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Friday night was Omarion Hampton's first NFL game. He learned a lesson everyone else knew: You don't give Patrick Mahomes second chances.
Hampton, the Los Angeles Chargers' first-round pick, got a handoff on third-and-16 in the final minute of the first half. The Chiefs had no timeouts left. Instead of staying in bounds and letting the clock run to less than 10 seconds left for a field goal attempt, Hampton ran out of bounds. That stopped the clock at 49 seconds left. The Chargers got a field goal for a 13-3 lead, but anyone who has watched Mahomes play knew what would happen next. That included Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh, who was exacerbated on the sideline over the rookie mistake.
YouTube, which was streaming the game, showed Hampton on the bench later getting a pep talk from Marshawn Lynch, the legendary running back who was on the sideline as a credentialed photographer. Lynch's words were probably kinder than what the Chargers' coaches had for Hampton.
With a little bit of time to work with after the kickoff, Mahomes hit Tyquan Thornton for a 38-yard gain to get the Chiefs in field-goal range. The Chiefs almost made a big mistake of their own, as tight end Noah Gray was knocked backward and out of bounds on a short gain. Because Gray was going backward the clock kept running. Instead of trying to spike the ball, the Chiefs sprinted their field goal team on the field with the clock running under 10 seconds.
That was risky, but they got the snap off in time. And they trust kicker Harrison Butker, who calmly drilled a 59-yard field goal after all the chaos to get the ball snapped in time.
Chiefs just pulled off the emergency field goal with no timeouts 😱
The Chargers had a great first half to get the season started. But one mistake opened the door for the Chiefs to be down by only seven points at halftime.