Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are 3-0, with all their wins coming in the last minute of the game.
Given their recent matches, this Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers is likely to be another close one.
Even though the Chiefs have beaten their AFC West rivals five times in a row, seven out of ten games between Mahomes and the Chargers have been decided by a touchdown or less.
The Chiefs won against Baltimore and Cincinnati with last-minute plays. Last week, Nick Bolton stopped Atlanta’s Bijan Robinson on fourth down to secure a 22-17 win.
“Offensively, we have to help the defense out by running some of that time off the clock or scoring a touchdown to kind of put the game out of reach,” said Mahomes, who will be making his 100th regular-season start on Sunday.
The last four times the Chiefs played at the Chargers’ stadium, the games were decided in the final moments, including two in overtime in 2020 and 2021. Last season, in Week 18, the Chiefs won 13-12 on a field goal by Harrison Butker with 48 seconds left.
Mahomes did not play in that game as he was preparing for the playoffs, while Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert was out due to a finger injury.
The Chargers, now at 2-1, are looking to bounce back after losing 20-10 to Pittsburgh last week. Herbert has been dealing with a high left ankle sprain for the second week in a row but is expected to play.
Herbert faced the Chiefs in his first NFL start and has a 2-5 record against them.
This game is also an important opportunity for Jim Harbaugh to demonstrate that the Chargers are improving in his first season.
If Los Angeles wants to compete in the AFC West, they need to perform better within the division. The Chargers had a poor record of 23-43 from 2013 to 2023 against the Broncos, Raiders, and Chiefs.
In contrast, Kansas City has won 17 of their last 22 matchups, sweeping the season series seven times. The Chargers haven’t swept the Chiefs since 2013.
“It’s a tremendous opportunity and we’re treating it as such,” Harbaugh said when asked if this game was a test for his team.
