SAN DIEGO — The Chargers have talent advantages over the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Chiefs are more talented at winning, and that's why they won, 27-24, Thursday night at Arrowhead Stadium.
Andy Reid's program adjusted better to adversity, befitting an AFC West dynasty that seeks a seventh consecutive divisional title.
The Chargers turned in a decent game, but the Chiefs were more resilient, much like in their Thursday night overtime win last season in Inglewood.
Pushed around in the first half, when receiver Mike Williams ate their lunch, the Chiefs defense clamped down on Williams after he caught a third-quarter touchdown pass. They picked up their pass rush, getting a big fourth quarter from lineman Chris Jones.
Patrick Mahomes overcame an explosive Chargers pass rush that battered him in the first half. He improvised two touchdown passes and set up a field goal after spinning away from rushers, accounting for 17 points with outside-the-box playmaking.
The game's biggest play belonged to a Chiefs rookie, Jaylen Watson, who was on the field only because another rookie fell to injury four days earlier.
Watson intercepted Justin Herbert's errant pass and ran it 99 yards for a touchdown, breaking a 17-17 tie to give K.C. its first lead early in the fourth quarter.
The Chiefs (2-0) overcame not having Tyreek Hill, the game-changing receiver and longtime Chargers nemesis they traded in March to infuse their defense with young talent. The Chargers struggled to deal with All-Pro center Corey Linsley's second-half absence with a knee injury.
It was a bigger win for the Chiefs than it was a loss for the Chargers (1-1), because Team Spanos has the more favorable schedule, although that might change.
The Chargers received superlative work from Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa, who in the two games have resembled the NFL's top tandem of edge defenders. Austin Ekeler got the better of Chiefs pursuers several times, creating extra yardage that most running backs can't create. The team's new lead tight end, Gerald Everett, took up some of the slack after the Chiefs overplayed Williams.
But the Chargers will not win their first West title since 2009, when Todd Haley was coaching the Chiefs and Matt Cassel was his quarterback, until they finish plays and other opportunities against Reid's club.
Coach Brandon Staley twice punted on fourth-and-2 near midfield. That's no way to beat Mahomes and Co. And his punter J.K. Scott, a newcomer living down to the Telesco-Spanos era of subpar special teams play, had consecutive punts of 29 and 34 yards.
Chargers cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. dropped two Mahomes passes. In contrast to Chiefs rookie Watson, the second-year player muffed a pass near the goal line he could've taken back for a TD. And though he nearly caught a Mahomes misfire near Kansas City's 40, the replay official overturned that interception.
Several Chargers including Herbert will have to figure out why the team failed to pull Everett after the exhausted tight end asked out of the game, one play before Herbert threw the pick-6, a pass that was meant for Everett and failed because of a communication glitch. That's no way to beat Reid's Chiefs, either.
And for all the upgrades the Chargers have made on their defense, which has one more bona fide dangerous pass rusher than the Chiefs do, the unit made a critical late lapse in allowing the Chiefs to pop a 52-yard run.
It wasn't a well-officiated game, and truth was, two bad, pivotal calls went against the Chargers. But the final outcome was a fair one. Mahomes, able to draw on much more NFL experience in big games, outplayed Herbert, who had a few more errant passes than normal and a bad run play before taking a painful hit late in the fourth quarter.
How well Staley and his team learn from the defeat will go a long way to determining if the Chargers can unseat the Chiefs. In at least six of those seven games between the rematch on Nov. 20, oddmakers are likely to favor the Chargers.
