Patrick Mahomes passed for two touchdowns, and Harrison Butker's franchise record-tying 58-yard field goal in overtime spoiled Justin Herbert's impressive debut, as the Kansas City Chiefs beat the AFC West-rival Los Angeles Chargers 23-20 on Sunday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.
The winning kick with 1:55 left was Butker's second 58-yarder of the day. He matched the club record set by Nick Lowery, who kicked 58-yard field goals in 1983 and 1985.
The Chiefs (2-0) fell behind 17-6 in the second half, but erased the deficit with 11 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. The run capped when Mahomes threw for 54 of his 302 yards on a one-footed toss to Tyreek Hill for a touchdown.
Hill finished with 99 yards on five receptions.
A successful two-point conversion pass to Mecole Hardman made up for an unsuccessful PAT in the second quarter after a 10-yard Travis Kelce touchdown reception. Jerry Tillery broke through to block the kick.
That was the sole misfire for Butker on a historic day. His 30-yard field goal as time expired forced overtime.
Mahomes helped set up Butker's game-tying field goal with a 12-play, 63-yard drive spanning the final 2:27 of regulation. Facing a third-and-20 late into the possession, Mahomes found a seam up the middle to run for 21 of his team-high 54 rushing yards.
Los Angeles (1-1) -- which went 2-9 in one-score games last season but opened the 2020 campaign with a 16-13 win in Cincinnati -- won possession to open overtime. Herbert threw for the final seven of his 311 yards, gained on 22-of-33 passing, helping set up a fourth-and-1.
The Chargers opted to punt, however, setting up Kansas City's game-winning drive.
Herbert, the team's first-round draft choice, was a late insert into the lineup with Week 1 starter Tyrod Taylor scratched just before kickoff due to a chest injury. Herbert led the Chargers on an opening 79-yard, eight-play drive, capped on a 4-yard run for a touchdown.
His 14-yard connection with wide receiver Jalen Guyton in the late second quarter marked Guyton's first career touchdown, and made Herbert the first player to both rush and pass for a touchdown in the first half of his debut since Bobby Clatterbuck of the New York Giants in 1954.
Herbert finished with 18 yards rushing, complementing the duo of Austin Ekeler (93 yards on 16 carries) and Joshua Kelley (64 yards on 23 carries). Keenan Allen led the Chargers with 96 yards on seven receptions.
Kelce had 90 yards on nine receptions for Kansas City.
--Field Level Media
Kansas City | L.A. Chargers | |
Patrick Mahomes | Player | Austin Ekeler |
6 | Attempts | 16 |
54 | Yards | 93 |
9.0 | Avg Yards | 5.8 |
0 | Touchdowns | 0 |
21 | Long | 13 |
Kansas City | L.A. Chargers | |
Tyreek Hill | Player | Keenan Allen |
5 | Receptions | 7 |
99 | Yards | 96 |
19.8 | Avg Yards | 13.7 |
1 | Touchdowns | 0 |
54 | Long | 28 |
Yards | Scoring | Defense | ||||||
Team | Tot | Rus | Pas | TD | FG | INT | Sck | FF |
Kansas City | 414 | 125 | 289 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2.0 | 0 |
L.A. Chargers | 479 | 183 | 296 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 |