AFC West

Justin Herbert lost Thursday's game, but he won plenty of respect along the way.

The Los Angeles Chargers quarterback took a hard hit in the fourth quarter of Thursday's 27-24 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and remained down for some time. He exited for a play with a rib injury but quickly returned to the field even with his team facing a 10-point deficit and extremely unlikely chance at a comeback.

It was obvious he was in pain, but he still managed to throw a touchdown pass to Joshua Palmer on fourth down to cut into the deficit.

Los Angeles was unable to recover the ensuing onside kick and fell three points short against its division rival, but Herbert earned plenty of praise for his toughness:

Chris Jones was the biggest problem for Herbert and the Chargers offensive line, as he finished with two sacks, two quarterback hits and a pass defended. Herbert was forced to evade pressure for much of the evening, and he certainly paid a price at times.

Ultimately, though, it was his pick-six to Jaylen Watson that proved to be the difference. It seemed as if Los Angeles was going to take the lead in the fourth quarter when Watson intercepted a pass and returned it 99 yards for a score.

The Chiefs never gave up the lead from there as Herbert labored to finish the game.

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert underwent X-rays after suffering an injury to his ribs in Thursday night's 27-24 loss against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Herbert appeared to suffer the injury in the fourth quarter of Thursday's game. He returned after taking one play off, but he was visibly playing through pain. He even managed to throw a late touchdown that cut Kansas City's lead to three. Chargers head coach Brandon Staley praised Herbert for his toughness and said he's expected to be OK:

Herbert was durable as the 2020 Offensive Rookie of the Year and appeared in 15 games while completing 66.6 percent of his passes for 4,336 yards, 31 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also added 234 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.

He was even better as a Pro Bowler in his second season while throwing for 5,014 yards and 38 touchdowns.

The Oregon product is a primary reason expectations were high in Los Angeles entering the season, and the team can ill-afford to lose him for an extended period in such a competitive AFC West.

He has completed 72 percent of his passes for 613 yards, six touchdowns and one interception for the 1-1 Chargers in 2022.

If Herbert is forced to miss time, look for Los Angeles to turn toward the veteran Chase Daniel.

While Daniel has been in the league for over a decade and appeared in games for the New Orleans Saints, Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions and Chargers, he has largely been a career backup.

Expectations will drop significantly for Los Angeles if Herbert is sidelined for long.

Patrick Mahomes led the Kansas City Chiefs to a critical 27-24 victory over the AFC West rival Los Angeles Chargers in Thursday's divisional showdown and didn't turn it over once.

On paper, that is an excellent day, especially since he threw for 235 yards and two touchdowns.

Yet sometimes the story goes beyond the statistics.

Mahomes threw two interceptions that were overturned by penalties. He threw a pick to Asante Samuel Jr., but it was overturned after a review showed the cornerback didn't control the catch to the ground. Throw in another near-pick in the end zone that Samuel may have returned 100 yards for a touchdown, and the four-time Pro Bowler benefitted from some serious luck.

Social media certainly noticed:

Yet it is a testament to Mahomes' greatness that he also managed to dazzle on multiple occasions even when avoiding so many turnovers. He evaded pressure and uncorked a beautiful touchdown pass to Jerick McKinnon for the home team's first score and then cut into a 10-point deficit with an unreal off-balance throw to Justin Watson for a 41-yard score.

It was fitting, though, that the most important play of the game for the Chiefs was the result of their defensive back completing an interception when the Chargers couldn't.

Just when it looked as if Los Angeles would take the lead in the fourth quarter, Jaylen Watson picked off Justin Herbert and returned it 99 yards for a go-ahead touchdown.

Kansas City never relinquished the lead from there and took an important step toward winning a seventh straight division crown.

Even if its quarterback needed a little luck along the way.

Thursday's game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers was supposed to come with plenty of offensive fireworks and fantasy points.

Someone must have forgotten to tell the star players.

The five offensive touchdowns in Kansas City's 27-24 victory came from Zander Horvath, Mike Williams, Joshua Palmer, Justin Watson and Jerick McKinnon, which is not what fantasy players relying on Austin Ekeler wanted to hear.

The Chargers star running back ended up with 14 carries for 39 yards and just 2.8 yards per attempt. He added nine catches for 55 yards at least, but the lack of a rushing attack combined with Sony Michel receiving a handoff at the Kansas City 1-yard line instead of him was reason for concern.

Fans on social media expressed some of that concern:

Ekeler had just 36 rushing yards and 36 receiving yards with no touchdowns in the Chargers' Week 1 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, so there is something of a troubling pattern emerging in the early portion of the season for those fantasy players relying on the No. 1 back.

Fortunately, there is a track record to fall back on after he scored 20 touchdowns a season ago, but the dominant fantasy playmaker from 2021 has yet to make an appearance in 2022.

Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes made yet another spectacular play for the team's first touchdown Thursday night against the Los Angeles Chargers, which drew the attention of Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons.

Mahomes scrambled for a while before firing a sidearm throw to Jerick McKinnon for the nine-yard score:

Parsons took to Twitter to express his desire to make dazzling plays like Mahomes does. No, he's not looking for a position change, but instead, he was referring to his play in Madden:

The way Mahomes plays football is unlike anything seen before in the NFL, as he uses his natural talent and instincts to excel at off-script plays. He thrives in chaos and looks like he enjoys pressure situations.

Thursday's play was just another addition to the 26-year-old's already impressive highlight reel.

Los Angeles Chargers cornerback J.C. Jackson will make his season debut on Thursday night against the Kansas City Chiefs, per NFL Network's James Palmer.

Jackson missed the team's Week 1 win over the Las Vegas Raiders while nursing an ankle injury.

Jackson, who underwent an ankle procedure last month, was listed as questionable for Thursday night's game but hinted he would play in an Instagram photo with the caption, "Yall know what time it is!!"

The 26-year-old was one of L.A.'s marquee offseason acquisitions, putting pen to paper on a five-year, $82.5 million contract in March that put him among the NFL's highest-paid defensive backs at $16.5 million annually.

Jackson spent the first four seasons of his career with the New England Patriots. He signed with the team as an undrafted free agent out of Maryland in 2018.

The Florida native had a breakout 2020 season, posting nine interceptions, 14 pass breakups, three fumble recoveries and 40 tackles in 16 games.

Jackson had an even better 2021 campaign, recording eight interceptions, a league-leading 23 pass breakups, one forced fumble and 58 tackles in 17 games. He earned his first Pro Bowl selection last season.

As one of L.A.'s top cornerbacks, Jackson is expected to have an equally impressive 2022 season, especially after landing a lucrative new contract.

The rest of the AFC West is officially on notice because three sacks, seven quarterback pressures, six tackles and a forced fumble in one game apparently isn't enough for Khalil Mack.

"It wasn't good enough," the Los Angeles Chargers pass-rusher said after helping lead his new team to a 24-19 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 1, per Joe Reedy of the Associated Press. "I left a lot of stuff out there, and I have to get it corrected."

Reedy noted Mack, whom the Chargers acquired via trade from the Chicago Bears this offseason, joined Shawne Merriman and Rodney Harrison as the only players in franchise history to post three sacks in a season opener.

Much of the focus was on the offensive side of the ball in the AFC West this offseason with the Denver Broncos adding Russell Wilson and the Raiders adding Davante Adams, but the idea of Mack and Joey Bosa rushing the passer together for the Chargers is surely a frightening one for the rest of the division.

They combined for 4.5 sacks and 16 quarterback pressures against Las Vegas and will have the opportunity to make their mark against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in Thursday's showdown.

It seems as if Mack might need four or five sacks to be pleased with his performance.

Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen has been ruled out for Thursday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Allen exited the Chargers' Week 1 win over the Las Vegas Raiders in the first half with a hamstring injury. He caught four passes for 66 yards before exiting, which led the team.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler later reported that Allen would "probably" miss L.A.'s matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sept. 15.

Allen has been pretty durable over his 10-year career, appearing in at least 12 games in seven of those seasons. The only significant time he missed was after he tore his ACL in Week 1 of the 2016 campaign.

The 30-year-old has been one of the Chargers' top receivers since breaking on to the scene in 2013 when the team was still in San Diego. He has five seasons with more than 1,000 receiving yards and has earned five All-Star selections.

Allen is expected to remain a significant part of the L.A. offense this year alongside Mike Williams and Joshua Palmer. When he's sidelined, Jalen Guyton and DeAndre Carter see more playing time.

The Chargers are 1-0 to start this season, but the Week 2 game against the Chiefs will be an important one for the AFC West standings.

Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said Monday night's win over Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos was "really rewarding" to the team's former players.

Carroll pointed to the high number of Hawks icons, including Marshawn Lynch and Richard Sherman, who were in attendance for the season-opening game during an appearance Tuesday on KIRO radio (via ESPN's Brady Henderson).

"I wanted to win for all of the reasons that come along with this one," he said. "Maybe as much as anything is representing the guys that have played before. It meant a lot to those guys. I was so thrilled to be able to hug those guys up and see them and look them in the eye."

When asked to expand on why it meant so much to Wilson's former Seattle teammates, the longtime coach was reluctant to yield much information.

"Eh, you figure that out," Carroll said. "But it was really meaningful and they really wanted it and I knew we were playing for a lot more than just the regular stuff. We have a real connection with the history. ... They feel it and they love the fact that they played here and they love seeing us do well. On this night, they realized there was a big opportunity and a big statement to be made: The game isn't about an individual player here or there. It's about team. This is the ultimate team sport and it's been stated so many times before. It takes everybody."

It's become clear there was a lot of behind-the-scenes drama leading up to Wilson's departure in a March trade to the Broncos.

Although the cracks in the relationship between Wilson and the organization started to show through in early 2021, when the future Hall of Fame QB when on a media tour to air his grievances with the franchise, it seemingly dates back far longer than that.

Baldwin, another former Hawks player in attendance Monday night, previously told Henderson those on the inside knew a breakup was coming for a while.

"From my vantage point, the divorce was inevitable and was many years in the making," he said. "The reasons are multiple, but ultimately, I think it comes down to a difference of pursuits."

So while the sides enjoyed plenty of success together, highlighted by winning the Super Bowl XLVIII title at the end of the 2013 season, the partnership kept trending in the wrong direction over the past few years.

Even the Seahawks fans gave Wilson a rude welcome for his return to Lumen Field:

Perhaps it was the cleansing moment the franchise needed to wash away the drama of recent years and move toward a new era. And, even though Carroll stopped short of any juicy soundbites, his message about the win's importance wasn't shielded.

The storyline probably won't have much legs moving forward since the teams play in opposite conferences, but that doesn't mean the emotion from Monday's victory can't help propel the Seahawks in the weeks ahead. Seattle has an NFC West matchup Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers.

Meanwhile, it's clear Wilson and the Broncos have a lot of work to do if they're going to emerge as a threat amid an AFC West race jam-packed with contenders.