I’ve said all along this year was going to be one of those seasons where the Chiefs would look good at times and show their inexperience at others, but at some point you have to start questioning Herm Edward’s ability to lead to team to be able to finish a game off.
Ahead 21-3 in the third quarter, the Chiefs let Phillip Rivers and the Chargers rally to score two touchdowns in the final 73 seconds to stun the Chiefs 22-21, leaving Edwards to say it’s the toughest loss in 30 years.
Rivers, who had the NFL-best’s 102.0 passer rating, was 34-for-48 for 346 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. The Chiefs has held Rivers and the Chargers’ offense to 106 yards and 3 points in the first half. Once again, the defense melted away in the second half giving up 288 yards.
Rivers led San Diego on an 89-yard drive, hitting Malcolm Floyd with a 4-yard scoring pass with 1:13 left, making it 21-16.
After the two-point conversion pass failed, the ensuing onside kick bounced off the chest of KC’s Dwayne Bowe, and Kassim Osgood fell on the ball for San Diego at the Chargers 39.
Rivers’ first play produced a 39-yard pass to Vincent Jackson to the 19. Then on third-and-1 from the 10, Jackson got open in the end zone and the Chargers seized the lead with 36 seconds left.
Conner Barth had a chance to give the Chiefs the win, but missed a 50 yard field goal, his second miss of the day, after the Chargers were called with a delay of game for preventing the Chiefs from lining up.
The Chiefs were all over San Diego early. Running back Larry Johnson capped a 96-yard drive with a 4-yard TD pass to Tony Gonzalez on KC’s first possession. Then, after a series of San Diego mistakes, Thigpen hit Bowe with a 1-yard TD pass for a 14-0 lead. However, the Chiefs also missed a field goal and got picked off in the endzone before taking the two score lead.
Midway through the third quarter, Patrick Surtain, intercepted Rivers’ pass and returned it to the 3, and Thigpen scored on the next play for a 21-3 lead.
The Chiefs defense got to Rivers for three sacks to give them a total of nine on the year. Tamba Hali also forced a fumble and recovered in the first half.
Yet again, the Chiefs found a way to lose. I point to Edwards. I don’t care what type of team you are, what your record is or how many rookies you have playing. If you can’t protect an 11 point lead with less than two minutes, you lack the toughest to finish off games. That goes back to the head coach. They’ve lost six of their games by a combined score of 23 points. In each of those six losses, they had second loss meltdowns. I’ve lost patience with Edwards and I think its time for the Hunt boys to make a change. They’ve got young talent, they need a leader who can give these guys the killer instinct.
The Chiefs are now 2-12 on the year. The Chargers playoff hopes remain alive trailing Denver by two games with two to play.