Last Sunday, the Chargers were not good enough on either side of the ball to beat a hungry and well-rested Chiefs team looking to reestablish themselves in the AFC West. It does not get any easier for the Chargers as they now have a short week to prepare for a primetime Thursday night matchup with the division leader Broncos who are coming off a convincing thrashing of the 49ers. The Chargers will have to prepare and execute very well to beat their toughest opponent of the season in what could be a telling game of who will end up atop the AFC West.

After losing in heart-breaking fashion in their season opener to the Arizona Cardinals, the San Diego Chargers had not lost since. They had won their last five games entering the weekend. Meanwhile, the Kansas City Chiefs were coming off of a much needed bye week following a tough loss against the San Francisco 49ers that left them at 2-3.

On Sunday, the division rivals met in San Diego in their first of two games against each other this season. After a hard-fought game, the Chiefs’ quarterback Alex Smith led a last minute drive to set up rookie kicker Cairo Santos for a 48-yard game-winning field goal. Santos hooked the kick to give Kansas City the 23-20 win and end the Chargers’ five-game winning streak. At the end of the day, the AFC West that was beginning to look like a two-team race between the Chargers and division leading Denver Broncos (5-1) suddenly became a three-team race with the Chiefs 0victory.

From the beginning of the week, the Chargers knew that this would be their toughest opponent so far this season as the Chiefs have been their longtime rivals and have given them trouble in the past. However, coming into the game, the Chargers were very confident in their consistent play on offense and defense. This was largely due to the MVP caliber play of quarterback Philip Rivers and the exceedingly strong play of their defense; the Chargers were sure to be poised for another victory at home. However, the Chiefs showed up big time offensively and defensively.

To start the game, neither team could score until Rivers found tight end John Phillips for a one-yard touchdown pass late in the first quarter. This was Phillips’s first catch of the season. At this point, it seemed that the Chiefs were in danger of losing their momentum and were in vital need of a scoring drive to silence the rejuvenated Chargers’ fans.

They did not disappoint as Smith drove them down the field in a quick and commanding drive that was capped off by star running back Jamal Charles on a 16-yard run. Charles has been one of the best running backs in the league, but had been struggling this season until this game. He seemed to be back in top form as he ran for 95 yards in addition to his touchdown against a fierce Chargers defensive line. During this game, he also became the Chief’s all-time leading rusher reaching 6,113 yards which he will look to add on.

After this drive, the Chargers offense was not able to get into rhythm until the very end of the first half when Rivers threw his second touchdown pass of the game to tight end Antonio Gates. This 27-yard pass gave the Chargers a 14-10 leading heading into half time. The Chargers defense continued their excellent play in the first half by keeping the explosive Chiefs offense to 10 points but also took a heavy blow in the game when they lost pro bowl cornerback Brandon Flowers to a concussion. This was Flowers’ first time playing his former team since being signed by the Chargers.

The second half started out slowly as only the Chiefs scored a field goal to cut the lead to one in the entire third quarter. Unlike the third quarter, the fourth quarter started out quickly as Smith found Anthony Sherman for an 1- yard touchdown pass to take a 20-14 lead.

The Chargers faced some difficulties for the first time in a while and responded well, scoring two huge field goals to tie the game at 20 including a clutch 48 yarder with two minutes left by kicker Nick Novak. The Chargers defense that had been so stingy all year seemed vulnerable as the Chiefs got the ball back and masterfully shredded the Chargers defense and set up a 48 yarder for Santos. He came up big again hitting his third field goal of the game and the biggest of his short career to lock up a huge win for the Chiefs.