Rookie running back Kareem Hunt gashed Los Angeles' defense to the tune of 206 yards and a pair of touchdowns, leading the Kansas City Chiefs (8-6) to a 30-13 victory over the Chargers (7-7)in a crucial Week 15 clash. Here's what we learned in Saturday night's action:
- Channeling the early-season dominance that resulted in a 5-0 start, the Chiefs came through with a well-rounded effort in the most meaningful AFC West showdown of the season. On the heels of a seven-game slump in which he failed to record a single 100-yard rushing performance, Hunt has regained tackle-breaking September form behind an improved offensive line over the past two weeks. Showing uncanny balance, burst and power, Hunt has owned the Bolts defense, totaling 389 yards and three scores in a pair of victories that could ultimately decide the division crown. With 1,201 rushing yards on the season, Hunt has passed the legendary Joe Delaney for the highest rookie total in franchise history. While it's premature for Kansas City to break out the champagne with bouts remaining against the suddenly frisky Dolphins and Denver's stingy defense, Andy Reid's squad now owns a one-game lead as well as the head-to-head tiebreaker over Los Angeles.
- Scalding hot signal-caller Philip Rivers ran his darkhorse MVP candidacy into a ditch, tossing a trio of game-changing interceptions as the Chargers' fleeting 13-10 lead slipped away. Feasting on the Browns, Bills and depleted Cowboys and Redskins over the past month, Rivers had gone a league-best 163 pass attempts without a pick before Saturday night's second-half implosion. Of the 10 picks he's tossed this season, six have contributed to the two losses versus the first-place Chiefs. Throwing into tighter windows against increased pressure brought on by Bob Sutton's timely blitz calls, Rivers failed to complete a single pass over 20 yards to his wideouts and tight ends. Although the MVP is now a pipe dream, Rivers will have to bounce back in strong fashion versus the Jets and Raiders to keep his team's dwindling playoff hopes alive.
- Vowing to make things right after his Week 13 antics led to a Reid-imposed one-game suspension, Pro Bowl cornerback Marcus Peters headlined an opportune Chiefs defense that generated takeaways on four consecutive possessions as a 13-10 deficit transformed into a 30-13 lead over a 20-minute span from the middle of the third quarter to the late stages of the final frame. On back-to-back third-quarter possessions, Peters returned an interception 62 yards to set up one field goal and stripped scatback Austin Ekeler to put Harrison Butker in position for another three-pointer. His second pick came with four minutes remaining, effectively ending any chance of a Chargers comeback bid. After losing its backbone in November, Kansas City's defense is showing serious signs of stiffening with the postseason on the horizon.
- The Chargers overcame their dismal 0-4 start to the season by getting healthy, winning the turnover differential, scorching defenses through the air, stuffing opposing ground attacks with improved tackling and attempting to fix a series of special teams issues. All of that went out the window at Arrowhead Stadium, starting with a special teams unit that failed to recover a key Tyreek Hill muffed punt, botched an attempt to pin the Chiefs at the one-yard line and watched kicker Travis Koons miss an extra point in a slow-burning first half. A plague of injuries struck thereafter, starting with the loss of difference-making linebackerDenzel Perryman to a hamstring pull. After left tackle Russell Okung, tight end Hunter Henry, defensive tackle Corey Liuget and linebacker Jatavis Brown went down with injuries of their own, Rivers' go-to receiver Keenan Allen left the sideline with a back problem as the game got out of hand. If the Bolts end up sitting on the sidelines in January, they can point to the same issues -- a rash of injuries and a blown second-half lead -- that have plagued the organization to a greater extent than any other over the past few seasons.
- When 37-year-old tight end Antonio Gates beat 35-year-old linebacker Derrick Johnson for a third-quarter score that gave Los Angeles a momentary lead, it marked Rivers' 86th career touchdown pass to the future Hall of Famer. The Chargers' quarterback-receiver duo bypassed Steve Young-to-Jerry Rice for second place on the all-time list, well behind the 112 touchdowns accrued by Indianapolis' Peyton Manning-to-Marvin Harrison connection.
- Tyreek Hill roasted Pro Bowl cornerback Casey Hayward with pure speed on a 64-yard touchdown, giving the burner four scores of 40 or more yards this season. No other player has more than two such trips to pay dirt. Hill became the third player in history with 11 touchdowns of 50 or more yards in his first two NFL seasons, joins Chicago Bears legends Gale Sayers and Devin Hester. How freakishly fast is Hill, who goes by the Twitter handle @cheetah? He now owns four of the top five speeds on touchdown receptions this season, per Next Gen Stats.
- Riding high on the strength of their eight straight wins over the Chargers dating back to late December of 2013, the Chiefs have regained "threat" status to AFC superpowers such as the Patriots, Steelers and Jaguars. The dramatic strides made on offense since Matt Nagy assumed play-calling duties from Reid early this month won't go unnoticed in the front offices of organizations hoping to find the next franchise savior such as Rams wunderkind Sean McVay. Reid has praised Nagy as the best head-coaching prospect he's groomed in 19 years with the Eagles and Chiefs.
