5 winners and 4 losers from the Chiefs’ win over the Chargers

What else should we have expected in the final seconds Week 14’s game?

When that field goal attempt bounced off the left upright and went through, the Kansas City Chiefs were just doing exactly what they’ve been doing all season — and for much of the Patrick Mahomes era: finding a way to win. This time, it was against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Doink for the division could be a memorable name for what happened — but when the season is over, it’ll be hard to remember each of the many ways games the Chiefs have won these games. For now, it’s been 15 consecutive wins in one-score games. Already in 2024, five have been decided by a last-second field goal.

Which Kansas City players stood out? Like the way the game ended, some of these players will be familiar.

Winners

Cornerback Trent McDuffie: The All-Pro was all over the field on Sunday night. He knocked away a deep pass in the first quarter, followed that up with a drive-ending tackle and ended the following drive with another batted pass. If the Chiefs’ defense holds up in the coming postseason, it’ll be because McDuffie is out there erasing plays.

Linebacker Nick Bolton: The leader of the Kansas City defense stepped up in his role as the unit’s enforcer. Bolton put in some devastating hits — including a sack and a tackle for loss. One play was a bit controversial: Bolton was flagged for hitting Los Angeles wideout Quentin Johnston in the first quarter. Bolton isn’t the guy you want isolated in coverage, but when he’s attacking like he did Sunday night, he’s the tone-setter the defense needs.

Wide receiver Xavier Worthy: He’s getting better, folks. The deep shots will come when there’s more time for Mahomes to throw. But in the meantime, Worthy is doing a nice job of attacking the football and helping to move the chains. It feels like a very good sign for his development.

Defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton: While the TV announcers didn’t want to give him much credit for closing on Justin Herbert, we will. Wharton has been the best version of himself in 2024. His motor, strength and speed make him a valuable part of the rotation. In this game, he finished with two sacks, two tackles-for-loss and three quarterback hits. It was a monster game for the UDFA from Missouri S&T.

Placekicker Matthew Wright: Now eight for nine on his kicks since returning to the Chiefs, Wright became the third Kansas City kicker to hit a game-winner this season. Harrison Butker should be back soon, but we should still appreciate Wright. And after Butker returns, general manager Brett Veach should keep him on speed-dial in case he’s needed again.

Losers

Left tackle D.J. Humphries: It wasn’t the glorious debut many of us hoped to see. The last, best hope for the left side of the offensive gave up quite a bit of pressure in his first start for the team. He and left guard Joe Thuney obviously have some work to do on how they will handle stunts and blitzes. Will Humphries’ late-game hamstring injury slow that development? We’ll be watching for updates this week.

Defensive backs Chamarri Conner and Bryan Cook: Simply put, these two have been coverage liabilities. Each is a sound tackler and blitzer (Conner got a hit on Herbert and had a tackle-for-loss), but opposing quarterbacks have found far too much success by targeting them. Some of that is from losing one-on-one reps. Some of it seems to be from assignment confusion on the back end. Could adding an old friend (like former Chiefs corner Steven Nelson) help solve these problems?

Tight end Baylor Cupp: Welcome to the NFL, Mr. Cupp. His pro debut included dropping the first pass thrown his way. He spent the rest of the evening trying to help tackles block a fierce edge rush. I’m sure he’ll get better from here.

Note: Applying the labels “winners” and “losers” is not intended to be a judgment on the talent or character of any of these players. It’s just a simple way to grade their performance in a single game. No disrespect is intended.