Chargers limp into bye week at 0-6 after loss to Chiefs

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Bruised, battered, and beaten, the Chargers limped into their bye week with a sixth straight defeat, starting a season that held so much promise in the heady days of July and August but now, in mid-October, seems like a lost cause.

Their 22-6 loss Sunday to the Kansas City Chiefs was another exercise in futility.

The opening minutes featured the things that have led the Chargers to this lowly state. Justin Herbert threw another inexplicable interception. Wide receiver Ladd McConkey suffered another injury and was forced from the game. Coordinator Mike McDaniel’s offense was ineffective again.

Granted, the Chargers started four rookies on their offensive line again with Pro Bowl tackles Joe Alt (neck) and Rashawn Slater (ankle surgery) sidelined. McConkey suffered a concussion, his third significant injury of the season after rib and foot issues. By halftime, the Chargers trailed, 19-3.

It was another unsightly mess of an offensive showing.

Herbert completed only 6 of 13 passes and was intercepted once, an errant throw on the run that Kansas City linebacker Jack Cochrane couldn’t have dropped if he had tried. The pass was likely targeted for wide receiver Quentin Johnston running a deeper route between layers of defenders.

It was at least the third such interception Herbert has thrown this season, following two in the Chargers’ loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 4, passes in which he didn’t appear to see the defender playing in pass coverage in front of the intended receiver. They have been well out of character for Herbert.

Sunday’s dispiriting first half alone would be enough to lead to further speculation about McDaniel’s future in the role he accepted in January, after the Miami Dolphins fired him after four seasons as their head coach. The marriage of Herbert and McDaniel promised so much but has delivered so little.

Conventional wisdom suggests that the Chargers could replace McDaniel with passing game specialist Adam Gase, a former head coach with the Dolphins (2016-18) and the New York Jets (2019-20). Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz doesn’t appear to be in a hurry to change anything, however.

The Chargers’ many injuries also have made it difficult to accurately judge their play, with Alt and Slater joined on the sideline Sunday by Pro Bowl safety Derwin James Jr. (hamstring), wide receiver Tre’ Harris (hamstring), left guard Kayode Awosika (fibula) and cornerback Donte Jackson (hamstring).

Twenty players were listed on the Chargers’ injury report to start last week.

All of which made contending with the resurgent Chiefs all the more difficult.

Running back Kenneth Walker rushed for touchdowns of 33 and 2 yards in the first half, proving to be as difficult for the Chargers to handle as any of the Chiefs’ other opponents this season. Walker went into the game as the NFL’s second-leading rusher with 537 yards in four games.

Walker rushed for 128 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries by game’s end.

Kansas City is 5-0 after last season’s 6-11 record kept them from the playoffs.

Cameron Dicker kicked field goals of 23 and 30 yards for the Chargers.

Herbert completed 22 of 37 passes for 204 yards.

After their bye next week, the Chargers face the Rams on Nov. 1.