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Derwin James and the Los Angeles Chargers faced off with the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football. It was a matchup of two potential playoff teams. Kansas City had already punched their ticket to the postseason. And Los Angeles seemed well on their way. However, their playoff hopes may have taken a bit of a hit on Sunday.
The Chargers had a 17-16 lead with one second remaining in the game. But kicker Matthew Wright put through a game-winning field goal off the upright to give Kansas City a 19-17 win at Arrowhead Stadium. This moved the Chiefs to 12-1 — tied with the Detroit Lions for best record in the NFL. Los Angeles, meanwhile, moved to 8-5 on the season.
After the game, James spoke to the media and made a rather blunt admission about some of the plays that were there to be made. “We didn’t make the plays in the third and fourth quarter to get off the field and I know looking at the tape we’re gonna be sick to our stomachs,” the Chargers star said, via ESPN's Kris Rhim.
Derwin James, Chargers fall as Chiefs escape with win
The Chiefs and Chargers played a rather close game on Sunday night. In fact, Kansas City only outgained their opponent by 10 yards. Moreover, Los Angeles won the possession battle by a little under two minutes.
Kansas City got off to a better start, however. Two field goals from Wright along with a De'Andre Hopkins touchdown gave them a 13-0 halftime lead. The Chargers also saw Justin Herbert go down with an injury scare in the second quarter.
Herbert was able to return to the game, though, and played well. He completed 21 passes for 213 yards and a touchdown. In fact, his touchdown to Quentin Johnson in the third quarter gave Los Angeles the 14-13 lead. They initially lost the lead after this. But kicker Cameron Dicker gave it right back with a little more than four and a half minutes remaining.
In the end, Wright kicked his fourth field goal of the game to win it for the Chiefs. With this win, Kansas City has won its ninth AFC West championship in a row. The last time Kansas City did not win the AFC West was 2015 when Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos won it en route to the Super Bowl.
The Chargers can still make the playoffs despite this loss. And they will need to put this loss behind them in order to do so. Los Angeles retakes the field again on December 15 for a Week 15 matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
