The Chargers traveled a very long distance to try to put an end to a seven-game losing streak to the Kansas City Chiefs, making a statement with a season-opening 27-21 victory at Corinthians Arena in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and in front of a world-wide audience watching on YouTube’s stream.
Justin Herbert threw for 318 yards and three touchdowns, including two to Quentin Johnston, as the Chargers defeated the Chiefs for the first time since Sept. 26, 2021, in Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium. Playing more than 6,000 miles from home, the Chargers made themselves at home.
Herbert completed 25 of 34 passes and also ran four times for 36 yards (until three late kneel-downs), including what proved to be a 19-yard keeper for a first down on a third-and-14 situation from his own 34-yard line on the final play before the 2-minute warning, and the Chargers clinging to a 27-21 lead.
“Just another game for us,” Herbert said during a postgame TV interview.
The Chargers took a 20-12 lead into the fourth quarter after Herbert connected with veteran wide receiver Keenan Allen on an 11-yard touchdown pass with 32 seconds remaining in the third quarter. It was the final play of a 12-play, 74-yard drive that chewed up 7:33.
Kansas City countered with Patrick Mahomes’ 37-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Travis Kelce with 12:04 remaining in the game as the teams traded momentum in the second half. Mahomes’ two-point conversion pass was incomplete and the Chargers held a 20-18 advantage.
Herbert’s third touchdown pass, a 23-yard toss to Johnston, extended the Chargers’ lead to 27-18 with 5:02 left. Mahomes then guided the Chiefs to a 27-yard field goal from Harrison Butker to make it 27-21, working his magic with a scrambling 40-yard pass to an open Hollywood Brown.
Mahomes completed 24 of 39 for 258 yards, throwing for one touchdown and running for another.
The Chiefs made mistakes, the Chargers made mistakes, and the first half resembled just another sloppy preseason game instead of an NFL showcase event, the second game played in Brazil. That the Chargers held a 13-6 lead by halftime was a bit of a head fake. They probably should have led by more.
Rookie running back Omarion Hampton’s decision to run out of bounds with less than a minute to play ended up costing the Chargers three points in the final analysis. Cameron Dicker kicked a 36-yard field goal with 45 seconds left in the half to give the Chargers a 13-3 lead.
Had Hampton stayed in bounds, the Chargers could have run the clock down to zeroes with the same result. Instead, Mahomes used the final 45 seconds to march the Chiefs down the field, setting up Butker’s 59-yard field goal as time expired to cut the Chargers’ lead to 13-6.
Hampton got the start ahead of Najee Harris, who missed all of training camp because of an eye injury suffered during a fireworks accident on July 4. Harris’ only touch in the first half was via a 5-yard reception in the second quarter. He did not have a carry. Hampton gained 32 yards on nine carries.
Herbert shredded the Chiefs’ defense on the opening drive, hitting Johnston on a 5-yard touchdown pass with 9:11 left in the first quarter. Dicker’s 39-yard field goal made it 10-0 with 13:37 remaining in the half. Butker countered with a 35-yard field goal with 4:50 left in the second quarter.
Penalties proved costly for both teams in the season-opening half of football, short-circuiting drives. The Chiefs were penalized seven times for 48 yards. The Chargers were penalized four times for 35 yards. It created a choppy start to the 2025 season for the AFC West rivals.
Compounding matters for Kansas City was the loss of speedy wide receiver Xavier Worthy, who sustained a shoulder injury when he collided with Kelce, his teammate, on a pattern over the middle on the Chiefs’ opening drive of the game. The Chiefs were already without suspended wide receiver Rashee Rice.
Mahomes brought the Chiefs within 13-12 thanks to an 11-yard scramble for a touchdown, capping Kansas City’s opening drive of the second half, after forcing the Chargers into a three-and-out to start. Butker shanked the potential tying extra point, however, and the Chargers still led.
More to come on this story.