The Kansas City Chiefs opened their 2025 season 0-1 after a 27-21 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Chargers in an Internationl Series game in Brazil.
The Chiefs began 2025 out of sync
It started when tight end Travis Kelce ran into wide receiver Xavier Worthy’s shoulder as they attempted underneath crossing routes on Kansas City’s third offensive play. Worthy was knocked out of the game with a shoulder injury, making the wide receiver corps even more shorthanded.
But it didn’t stop there. Wide receiver Hollywood Brown dropped
passes. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes badly overthrew open wideouts on the deep passes the team was hoping to emphasize in 2025. The defense couldn’t get any pressure against Los Angeles quarterback Justin Herbert, who completed 7 of 9 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter.
The Chargers led 10-0 before the Chiefs managed any kind of offense — ironically by channeling their 2024 season, dinking and dunking down the field on a 16-playd drive that took almost nine minutes of the clock. Running back Kareem Hunt converted two fourth downs on the drive before it ended with a 35-yard field goal with just under five minutes left in the first half.
But at the start, special teams sparkled
Wideout Tyquan Thornton returned the game’s opening kickoff 42 yards. Although the gain was substantially reduced by a penalty, it gave the unit some momentum. Rookie defensive back Nohl Williams downed Matt Araiza’s second punt of the evening at the Los Angeles 2-yard line, which led to Kansas City’s first defensive stop.
But all of that paled in comparison to what happened at the end of the first half. Getting the ball with 40 seconds left, Mahomes found Thornton for a 38-yard gain. Out of timeouts, Mahomes spiked the ball to stop the clock. Following back-to-back false start penalties, it looked like the team was going to waste a golden opportunity.
But after a pass to Noah Gray gained only three yards on a third-and-15 with 17 seconds left, the special teams unit was ready. With the clock running, the field goal unit sprinted onto the field, managing to snap placekicker Harrison Butker’s 59-yard attempt as the clock hit zero — and Butker narrowed the Chargers’ halftime lead to 13-6.
It’s not as if there weren’t special teams miscues, however. Later, Butker missed an extra point — and then a two-point conversion after the next score failed to make up the difference.
Mahomes Magic still existed
Kansas City’s quarterback repeatedly scrambled for first downs — and also ran for a touchdown. On two different occasions, he found JuJu Smith-Schuster with amazing off-platform throws. The second of these took place on a third-and-5 in the fourth quarter. Mahomes was going down, but managed to stretch himself horizontally — and while in the air, flip the ball in between three Los Angeles defenders into the veteran wideout’s hands. The first down kept the drive alive — and Mahomes ultimately ended it by finding Kelce for a 37-yard touchdown.
Then on a fourth-and-7 with 3:24 remaining, Mahomes found Hollywood Brown for a 49-yard reception that allowed Butker to keep the Chiefs alive with a 27-yard field goal to bring Kansas City to six points down.
In the end, it wasn’t enough
While the Chiefs found ways to keep themselves in the game, their early mistakes left them too far behind to catch up. The team comes home from Brazil needing more focus on both sides of the ball. They looked flat and unispired during much of the first half — and ultimately, that made the difference in this game.
In the final analysis, Worthy’s injury may prove to be the matchup’s biggest storyline. If he misses significant time, can the remaining wideouts find a way to be productive without their top two players during the coming weeks? A lot may depend on that answer.
