Chiefs stay unbeaten, Chargers stay winless

The Chiefs scored nine points on their first two possessions of Sunday’s home game against the Chargers and that would be all they’d need to move their record to 5-0 on the season.

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert threw his eighth interception of the season, wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith lost a fumble and the Chiefs broke a three-game sackless streak by dropping Herbert four times in a 22-6 win. The loss drops the Chargers to 0-6 on the season and sends them into their bye week without any signs that things are getting better.

While there was plenty to like about the defensive effort on Sunday, the Chiefs probably won’t be thrilled with the way the rest of the team performed in the second half of the game. They failed on a fourth down on their first possession of the third quarter and then saw punt returner Nikko Remigio lose a fumble to give the Chargers another chance. They forced another punt, but punted the ball back and then missed a field goal to allow the Chargers to hang around even as they did their best to give the game away.

Kenneth Walker ran for a pair of scores to help stake the team to a 19-3 halftime lead and is now up to eight in his first five games with the Chiefs. He finished the day with 128 yards on 19 carries while Patrick Mahomes was 23-of-30 for 272 yards. Those numbers would point to more scoring, but the missed kick and a Mahomes interception in the end zone in the first half contributed to the relatively modest output.

Mahomes completed passes to eight different receivers with Rashee Rice out of the game, which is a positive for the overall offensive depth in Kansas City moving forward. They did lose right tackle Jaylon Moore to a concussion during the game, which could be an issue when they head to Seattle for one of Week 7’s marquee matchups.

The Chargers will not have to leave Los Angeles for their return to the field in Week 8, although they’ll be the road team in their game against the Rams. Both teams have wildly underperformed expectations to this point in the season — the Cardinals have more wins at SoFi Stadium than the two tenants combined — and it will be interesting to see what kinds of changes the Chargers make during their bye week in an attempt to salvage something of what’s already a lost season.