Elijah Molden returned to the visiting locker room at Arrowhead Stadium to find congratulations on his phone. The Chargers defensive back found no reason to celebrate.
“There’s no such thing as almost,” said Molden, who had an interception negated by a penalty in the Chargers’ 19-17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
For the second time this season, the Chargers (8-5) had to talk about the mistakes and missed opportunities in a close loss to the Chiefs. The two-time defending Super Bowl champions bounced a 31-yard field goal off the upright and through the goalposts as time expired Sunday to capture their ninth consecutive AFC West title.
Read more: Chargers get hammered again by Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, this time on the final drive
Here are four lessons from the loss:
Justin Herbert no worse for the wear
The crowd at Arrowhead Stadium fell silent as coaches tended to Justin Herbert on the field. Coach Jim Harbaugh leaned forward with his hands on his knees after Herbert absorbed a big hit from linebacker Nick Bolton as Herbert released the ball after a deep throw.
Herbert said he just took a blow to his left knee during the game and doesn’t expect that to be a problem in the future. Harbaugh called it a leg bruise. Backup Taylor Heinicke joined in on one play, rushing for 12 yards on third-and-20, before Herbert returned to finish the half without entering the injury tent for additional evaluation.
“We were fortunate that he was such a competitor,” center Bradley Bozeman said. “He came back and picked it all up again, did what he did and played a great game.”
Herbert finished with 213 yards passing and a touchdown on 21 of 30 passing. He almost immediately ended major concerns about his knee to start the second half, leading back-to-back touchdown drives to turn a 13-point halftime deficit into a one-point lead.
Receivers perform without Ladd McConkey
Ladd McConkey has been responsible for more than half of the Chargers’ receiving yards over the past three games, but with the rookie sidelined Sunday, Herbert was forced to test the depth of the receiving room.
Joshua Palmer and Quentin Johnston led the way with six and five catches, respectively, with Palmer recording a season-high 78 yards receiving. Johnston, whose season was on an upward trend before no catches and a critical dip in the loss to the Baltimore Ravens two weeks ago, had 48 yards and one touchdown. He set the tone in the first quarter by holding on to a catch despite a crushing blindside hit that drew an unnecessary roughness penalty.
“Quentin Johnston, tough game,” Harbaugh said. “Boys came to play.”
The passing game was further tested when tight end Will Dissly injured his shoulder on the final play of the first half and did not return. He was the Chargers’ second leading receiver entering the game with 399 yards receiving and 41 catches.
Running in circles
Offensive coordinator Greg Roman said last week that a more potent offense would be needed to beat the Chiefs. The Chargers rushed for 94 yards; it was their third straight game with less than 100 yards on the ground.
Chargers running backs averaged 2.6 yards per rush in the first half and got just five carries. It didn’t feel like a coincidence that the Chargers were shut out in the first half.
Gus Edwards was dropped for a two-yard loss on his first rush, and Kimani Vidal had a seven-yard gain negated by a penalty on his first touch. The negative plays forced the Chargers to deviate from the running game early.
But the running backs started the second half on the right foot, with Edwards picking up three yards on his first carry of the third quarter. Vidal rushed for eight yards on consecutive plays, leading to the Chargers’ first touchdown drive of the game.
“We were kind of starting to become who we are,” Bozeman said of the offensive improvement in the third quarter. “In the second half it started to pay off for us. We just have to start faster in the first half and give G-Ro the confidence to run the ball.
Edwards finished with 36 yards rushing on 10 carries and one touchdown. Vidal got his biggest workload of the season on Sunday with eight carries and 34 yards rushing.
Read more: Chiefs show Chargers how to win close games, still a lost cause for LA
The Chargers will be without running back JK Dobbins (knee) for at least two more games while he is on injured reserve.
Chargers lack the finishing punch
The Chargers had 11 quarterback hits and three sacks of Patrick Mahomes in the first half. The 11 quarterback hits were the most for the team in a first half of a game since 2000.
Joey Bosa and Derwin James Jr. had one sack each, with Tuli Tuipulotu and Khalil Mack sharing a sack in the first half. Mack led the team with four quarterback hits, but the Chargers hit Mahomes only twice in the second half and did not have a sack after halftime.
“The biggest thing is we can’t get comfortable,” said linebacker Daiyan Henley, who missed a tackle on Mahomes on a crucial third-down play that allowed the Chiefs to make their final field goal. “It’s a four-quarter fight, it’s a 15-round fight, we talked about that before this match even started in boxing terms. At times like this we have to be able to deliver that knockout punch.”
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
