The Los Angeles Chargers opened the 2018 season 0-1 after falling to the Kansas City Chiefs, 38-28.
Stat of the Game:
With his second quarter touchdown pass to Austin Ekeler, Philip Rivers passed Fran Tarkenton for the sixth-most touchdown passes in NFL history (343).
Play of the Game:
On 2nd-and-10 from the KC 13, Rivers dropped back and looked left where he lobbed a pass into the end zone toward Ekeler who jumped up to nab the ball and take in the pass for the score. The touchdown was the Bolts' first of the day, and although they missed the two-point conversion attempt, they cut the Chiefs' lead to two.
Turning Point:
Driving downfield in the third quarter, the Chargers got to the Kansas City 26. On third down, Rivers' pass was picked off by Ron Parker. Three plays later on 3rd-and-13 Patrick Mahomes escaped and hit Tyreek Hill for 34 yards. Three plays after that, Mahomes hit Anthony Sherman deep for a touchdown and a 31-12 lead.
It Was Over When:
JJ Jones waited deep for the punt at the Chargers' 14. He muffed it then recovered it, and ran back to the L.A. eight where he fumbled, and James Winchester recovered it at the two. Three plays later, the Chiefs scored increasing their lead, 38-20.
Bolt Quotebook
"In no way does this dampen my excitement for the season. All it means, we can't go undefeated." – QB Philip Rivers
"It feels good. Obviously being back here, this is family to me. It took me a while to get going because I had been away for so long. Going into the second half, my timing came back. It's kind of like ridding a bike. I still have a long way to go because I just got back this week, but my thing is just progress. I'm trying to make progressions every single week." – TE Antonio Gates on his return to the field
"We just were not locked in and maybe they took their eye off the ball. I had one where I didn't get my head around fast enough. It's just little details. I definitely like those guys. They can make the plays because they have made them before plenty of times. I am not really worried about it. They had mistakes and we (all) had mistakes, including myself. We're going to be alright." – RB Melvin Gordon
Odds and Ends
The Chargers outgained the Chiefs in total yardage 541-362. They held advantages both on the ground (123-106) and through the air (418-256).
Melvin Gordon, who had 64 rushing yards, led the offense in receptions (nine) while Keenan Allen had the most receiving yards (108).
Desmond King had five solo tackles while Kyle Emanuel, Kyzir White and Jahleel Addae each had five total tackles.
Derwin James finished his regular season rookie debut with three total tackles, one QB hit, two passes defensed and one sack.
Keenan Allen posted the 19th 100-yard receiving game of his career. It pushed him into a tie with WR Anthony Miller for No. 7 in Chargers history. He also broke the team record for most multi-catch games, breaking a tie with Kellen Winslow.
Legendary quarterback Stan Humphries fired the ceremonial cannon before the game.
Today's captains were Philip Rivers, Jahleel Addae, Melvin Ingram, Brandon Mebane and Russell Okung.
Inactives for the Chargers included WR Geremy Davis, CB Brandon Facyson, LB Emmanuel Ellerbee, C Scott Quessenberry, G Forrest Lamp, DT T.Y. McGill and DE Joey Bosa.
