2024 Week 14: Chargers 17, Chiefs 19
I knew this game was over after the Chargers went up by 1 with 4:35 on the clock. They needed the touchdown to force KC into an overtime scenario but couldn’t get it done, and the Chiefs doink in the game-winning field goal as time expired to win 19-17.
The Chiefs are now (12-1) and might lose one or maybe two more games if they lock up the #1 seed by Week 16.
The Chargers fall to (8-5) and are starting to fade. They’ll likely split the remaining 4 games and get into the playoffs as a wildcard team at 10-7. The wildcard race is going to be tight between LAC, DEN, MIA, and possibly IND.
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QB Report:
- Pat Mahomes (24/37 for 210 yards, 1 TD; 4 rushes for 17 yards) is back to his old ways, boring 200-yard games, maybe a touchdown or 2, and that’s about it. It doesn’t take a lot for the Chiefs to win this year with everything possible going their way. Mahomes and the Chiefs don’t care about the regular season and it’s most evident through the offense. As long as Matt Nagy is the OC Mahomes will never be the Mahomes we had a few years ago.
- Justin Herbert (21/30 for 213 yards, 1 TD; 4 rushes for 12 yards) is just as talented as Mahomes but you would never know, he’s been buried behind bad coaches and is now buried under a scheme that’s not conducive to good QB numbers. LA is genuinely trying their hardest to NOT have Hall of Fame quarterbacks, first with Rivers, now with Herbert.
RB Report:
- Just as I had expected, the Chiefs are being smart about their RB usage. Isiah Pacheco (14-55-0; 2 catches for 6 yards) wasn’t a main feature back until late when they needed to start trying, which worked perfectly. From a real football standpoint it’s genius… let Samaje Perine (1-3-0; 1 catch for 16 yards) and Kareem Hunt (5-16-0; 1 catch for 13 yards) take the bulk of the work and keep Pacheco safe and fresh for when it really matters.
- From a fantasy perspective, it’s incredibly frustrating and you almost need to fully avoid this backfield unless you HAVE to, and hope your Hunt/Pacheco is the one that gets a carry into the endzone. If KC loses this week and Buffalo wins, it all changes, but as long as KC is winning Pacheco will not see the field enough to be starting in just about any league.
WR Report:
- Ladd McConkey was out this game, and Josh Palmer (6-78-0/9) filled in nicely in his stead. Palmer is the best non-Ladd option they have. If McConkey misses the game next week then Palmer is in a great spot against the TB defense. Quentin Johnston (5-48-1/7) still stinks, I could be mistaken but I’m pretty sure his two non-caught targets were drops.
- Will Dissly (2-19-0/2) was primed for a nice day against the terrible KC defense but got hurt and was replaced by Stone Smartt (3-54-0/3).
- Smartt is an okay TE, he used to be a QB in college who transitioned to WR and then settled in as a TE. He’s hard-working and you have to commend that, but unfortunately, he doesn’t fit into the ground-and-pound scheme of Jim Harbaugh. Smartt will probably see 30% of the snaps so he has a tight window to try and produce big for fantasy.
- Just one quick note about DeAndre Hopkins (4-32-1/9), but as the scenarios play out with the playoffs and various clinching scenarios that impact Pacheco’s usage, those also impact DeHop in the same manner. The more they win the less DeHop we will see. It already started this week.
IMAGE SOURCE: (AP PHOTO/CHARLIE RIEDEL)