KC Reporter

The Kansas City Chiefs began their 2025 NFL season with a 27-21 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Friday night. The game, which marked the start of the new campaign, saw the Chiefs make several adjustments in the second half that nearly resulted in a comeback.

Kansas City’s offense struggled early, punting on its first three possessions and losing wide receiver Xavier Worthy to a shoulder injury just three plays into the game. The team managed only 35 yards during those initial drives. However, after halftime, quarterback Patrick Mahomes led an improved offensive effort. Mahomes completed 24 of 39 passes for 258 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for a team-high 57 yards and another score. Despite this turnaround, inefficiency in the red zone—scoring touchdowns on just one of three trips—and a missed extra point proved costly.

The Chiefs also faced challenges with discipline and execution throughout the contest. They committed ten penalties totaling 71 yards, failed to convert their first seven third-down attempts, and missed an extra point that would have tied the game in the third quarter. “They definitely came out with more energy than we did. In this league, everybody is too good to not match the energy of your opponent,” Mahomes said. “I think we learned a valuable lesson today. We have to be better from the get-go. We're not just going to be able to come back and win every single game…This will be a big lesson for us.”

One notable moment occurred at the end of the first half when Kansas City executed a "run-on" field goal with only seconds remaining on the clock. Tight end Noah Gray helped expedite spotting the ball as multiple players swapped positions quickly before long snapper James Winchester set up kicker Harrison Butker for a successful 59-yard field goal.

Defensively, Kansas City was effective against Los Angeles’ running backs, limiting them to just 58 rushing yards on 18 carries—a performance similar to last season’s run defense statistics where they allowed an average of only 3.8 yards per carry (https://www.nfl.com/stats/team-stats/defense/rushing/2024/reg/all). However, Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert found success through the air, particularly on third down where he completed seven of eight passes for two touchdowns.

Despite mistakes across all phases of play, Kansas City remained within reach late in the fourth quarter as they trailed by six points with over two minutes left. On a critical third-and-14 situation from their own 34-yard line, Herbert scrambled for a first down that sealed victory for Los Angeles.

Although it was not their best performance, members of the Chiefs organization believe lessons from this defeat could help them later in the season.