The Chargers got big, big performances out of their young studs against the Chiefs.
Third-year pass rusher Tuli Tuipulotu led the attack in Patrick Mahomes as the group finished with five sacks. Third-year linebacker Daiyan Henley picked off Mahomes in the red zone to keep points off the board.
It was also a pair of rookie wideouts that helped the offense get the most out of their shaky pass protection as both authored the two biggest receptions of the day while Herbert was getting knocked around in the pocket.
Tre’ Harris somehow hauled in a perfect pass from Herbert for a 37-yard gain that then directly led to KeAndre Lambert-Smith’s first NFL touchdown several plays later.
Overall this was a huge game for not only these players, but the Chargers organization as a whole. For now at least, the Chiefs monkey is off their backs and it’s time to look ahead without that massive cloud hanging over their building.
With that said, let’s take a look at the Chargers’ winners and losers from this week’s win.
Winners
WRs Tre’ Harris and KeAndre Lambert-Smith
On a day where the offense looked about as dreadful as it has all season long, it was the Chargers’ two rookie wide receivers who made the biggest plays of the game against the Chiefs. Coincidentally, they both came on the same drive which led to the Chargers’ only touchdown of the game.
After getting beat up for the better part of the second half, Herbert took a snap on second-and-10 from their own 40-yard line. He once again had to maneuver a murky pocket and found just enough room to loft a pass towards a streaking Harris up the left sideline before he got walloped.
The ball somehow, someway, landed perfectly into Harris’ arms as he seemingly made the catch before rolling out of bounds. With the call on the field being a completion, the replays that may have shown the ball hitting the ground as he landed were not clear and sufficient enough to overturn, so the play stood.
Three plays later, Herbert once again got the ball off while avoiding pressure with a jump pass towards the back of the end zone. What looked like an ill-advised pass somehow traveled just fast enough to get to a leaping Lambert-Smith between two defenders. The score was KLS’ first professional touchdown and just his second reception of the year and it could not have come at a bigger moment.
As Herbert said in a postgame interview, Harris and KLS are going to make a lot of plays for this franchise in the years to come.
EDGEs Tuli Tuipulotu and Odafe Oweh
It was the Chargers pass rush that helped set the pace defensively on Sunday and no one was more impactful in the first half than the duo of Tuli and Oweh. By the end of the game, each of them had recorded two sacks and another tackle for loss.
For those keeping track at home, that makes 12 sacks for Tuipulotu this year (previous career high was eight in 2024) and seven sacks for Oweh, all of which have come since being traded to the Chargers from the Ravens (nine games).
The pass rush as been one of the pivotal factors of the defense’s recent surge for the Chargers and Tuli’s impact (seven sacks, 11 tackles for loss in the past seven games) cannot be understated.
Losers
Pass Protection
What else is there to keep saying about this group? Each week together, regardless of if it’s a new combination or not, is not getting better. It was PAINFUL to watch Justin Herbert try to stand behind his line to find open receivers. It’s been two straight games of watching the Chargers’ star player get molly-whopped and even with the record they have, I cannot have any sort of confidence that this group will allow the Chargers to get past the first round of the playoffs.
The wild thing is, the Chargers offensive line only allowed six pressures and two sacks to the Chiefs. That feels like an unreal stat line given just how little time Herbert seemed to have on any given dropback. At this point in the season, there’s just no real answer and no real combination to be made that will give the Chargers the needed boost to this area of their offense.
