Justin Herbert threw for 318 yards and three touchdowns as he outdueled Patrick Mahomes, and the Los Angeles Chargers beat Kansas City 27-21 on Friday night in Sao Paulo, snapping a seven-game skid to the Chiefs.
“It’s monumental,” Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said. “5 September will go down in some Charger lore, in my opinion. It was a big win.”
The NFL’s second game played in South America was streamed on YouTube, with Neymar in attendance in the stadium, and the audience were treated to an enthralling contest.
Herbert became just the third quarterback in Chargers history with 300 yards and three TDs in a season opener. His 19-yard run for a first down dashed any comeback hopes the Chiefs had with 2:21 to play and Kansas City trailing by six points. Herbert finished 25 of 34 and was sacked three times for the Chargers.
Mahomes was 24 of 39 for 258 yards, one touchdown and two sacks.
“We knew it was going to be a dogfight, so we showed up today with our best effort,” Herbert said. “It was fun to see.”
Mahomes and the Chiefs struggled to make big plays in the first half. Coming off their third straight Super Bowl appearance last season, the Chiefs went 3-and-out on their first three possessions of the game.
The Chiefs had two fourth-down conversions in the second quarter but Mahomes was sacked and the drive ended in a 35-yard field goal by Butker, leaving them trailing 10-3. Herbert ran and threw and was protected well by his offensive line as the Chargers built a 13-6 lead at half-time.
The Chiefs were coming off their first TD drive in the third when they gave one right back to their AFC West rivals. Herbert’s short left pass to Keenan Allen for 11 yards extended the Chargers’ lead to 20-12. Herbert and Allen had more than 300 receptions together before Allen left for Chicago last season. He returned to Los Angeles last month.
The Chiefs closed to 20-18 on Mahomes’ 37-yard TD pass to Travis Kelce early in the fourth. The two-point conversion failed as Mahomes’ pass was incomplete to Noah Gray.
Herbert’s 23-yard TD pass to Quentin Johnston extended the lead to 27-18 with 5:02 remaining in the fourth.
On what turned out to be their final possession, Mahomes threw incomplete to Marquise Brown on first-and-goal at the LA nine. Two more incomplete passes brought on Harrison Butker, whose 27-yard field goal cut the deficit to 27-21 with 2:34 remaining. Herbert then took control to close out the game for the Chargers.It was their first victory over the Chiefs since September 2021.
Injuries
The Chiefs were already down two receivers to start the game, with Rashee Rice suspended to start the season and rookie Jalen Royals out with a knee injury. They lost another one three snaps into the game. Xavier Worthy and Kelce collided on a third-down pass. Worthy had to be helped off the field and was later ruled out with a right shoulder injury.
Chargers linebacker Denzel Perryman didn’t return after leaving with an ankle injury in the third.
