KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Harrison Butker remains a Pro Bowler in the hearts of Chiefs Kingdom.
The Kansas City Chiefs’ kicker, who wasn’t picked for the Pro Bowl with Baltimore’s Justin Tucker blocking his path, delivered the game-winning 41-yard field goal with 49 seconds left as a depleted squad finished the regular season with a 13-12 win Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
Butker finished the season 33 of 35 on field goals — good for 94.3% — and perfect on 38 extra-point tries as the Chiefs improved to 11-6 overall.
“It’s good to get the win, for sure,” coach Andy Reid said. “We came 2,000 miles to get a win, and I think it uplifts you, especially for those young guys.” He added, “I was proud of our young guys for the job that they did."
Kansas City already was locked into the No. 3 seed in the AFC before the game, so more than a dozen regular contributors sat out due to an existing injury or to avoid picking one up before next weekend’s Super Wild Card Round.
Backup Blaine Gabbert, a former first-round pick from Mizzou, went 15 of 30 for 154 yards with an interception and La’Mical Perine carried 21 times for 77 yards as the Chiefs eked out the win despite failing to score an offensive touchdown.
Gabbert, who made his first start for Kansas City back in his home state, improved to 14-35 as a starter in his NFL career.
He added 46 yards on five carries on the ground, including scrambles of 25 and 14 yards on the final drive to help set up Butker’s game-winner.
“Blaine Gabbert with the long runs, who would have thought that?” Reid said. “He did a great job with it.”
Gabbert’s favorite target was Mecole Hardman Jr., who had six catches for 77 yards in his most-productive game since returning to the Chiefs via midseason trade.
Perine had 33 yards on three receptions, topping 100 yards from scrimmage, so don’t tell him the game was meaningless.
It was the sixth time under coach Andy Reid that the Chiefs have finished the regular season with a matchup against the Chargers, including the fourth time on the road.
Led by backup Chase Daniel, Kansas City lost its finale at the then-San Diego Chargers in overtime in 2013.
One year later, Daniel led a 19-7 win in San Diego in the regular-season finale with the starters sitting once again.
The Chiefs had to play their starters during the 2016 finale in San Diego, a 37-27 win, to secure the AFC West crown via tiebreaker over the then-Oakland Raiders.
During the 2019 finale, which was against the Chargers but in Kansas City, the Chiefs played their starters to lock up the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in the postseason en route to ending a half-century playoff drought.
Kansas City rested its starters against the Chargers at home a year later with a top seed wrapped up by Week 17.
The Chargers marched 68 yards on an 18-play, 9-minute and 9-second opening drive for their offense, but it ended in a disaster — one that can’t be blamed on ousted coach Brandon Staley.
As quarterback Easton Stick tried to scramble up the middle, Chiefs defensive end Charles Omenihu knocked the ball free with a diving sack at the 7-yard line.
Safety Mike Edwards scooped up the loose ball and, escorted by cornerback Joshua Williams, returned the fumble 97 yards for a touchdown.
“It was fun, but it was challenging,” Edwards said. “After that [18-play] drive then having to run 97 yards, it was tough.”
It was Kansas City’s second fumble-return score this season and first since Bryan Cook took a lateral from Edwards and rumbled the remaining 59 yards for the game-winning score in a 21-14 win against Miami on Nov. 5 in Frankfurt, Germany.
The Chiefs led 10-0 after a 22-yard Harrison Butker field goal early in the second quarter, but 49- and 40-yard Cameron Dicker field goals trimmed the lead to 10-6 at halftime.
After a Chris Jones sack late in the third quarter, a 43-yard Dicker field goal made it a one-point game before the Chargers finally took their first lead of the game with 4:06 remaining on a 20-yard field goal after an impressive goal-line stand by a backup defensive unit.
Defensive tackle Matt Dickerson’s third-down stonewalling of Austin Ekeler on third-and-goal from the 1-yard line was the key play and highlighted a feisty defensive performance.
Core special teams linebacker Cam Jones led the defense with a career-high 12 tackles, while fellow linebacker Jack Cochrane and defensive backs Chamarri Conner and Jaylen Watson each racked up eight tackles.
“Guys made plays,” said Edwards, who had the only touchdown in the game. “You just look down the list — [defensive end] Malik [Herring] made plays; Deon [Bush] and Chamrri [Conner], the safeties and corners, played well. Just all over the field, I feel like we played a helluva game.”
OFFENSIVE LINE SHAKEN AFTER SHAKEUP: Rookie Wanya Morris started his fifth consecutive game at left tackle with Donovan Smith still sidelined by a neck injury, which first cropped up in late November at Las Vegas and then forced the veteran to the bench at halftime in early December at Green Bay.
But that wasn’t the only change to the normal starting lineup against the Chargers.
Guards Joe Thuney and Trey Smith rested along with right tackle Jawaan Taylor, while starting center Creed Humphrey slid to Smith’s traditional right guard spot.
That left a starting offensive line, from left to right, of Morris, backup Mike Caliendo at left guard, veteran Nick Allegretti at center, Humphrey and former third-round pick Lucas Niang in front of Gabbert.
When Morris left the game to be evaluated for a concussion late in the first half, Taylor was forced to play left tackle.
Later that same drive, Taylor took a blow to his right knee during a pass-blocking set, which forced Thuney into the game at left tackle.
MILESTONE WATCH: Travis Kelce’s bid for an eighth straight 1,000-yard season ended before the game started.
He needed 16 yards but was inactive for the game, finishing the season with 93 catches for 984 yards with five touchdowns.
Defensive tackle Chris Jones did play, entering the game with 9 1/2 sacks and needing to reach 10 sacks to trigger a $1.25-million bonus.
Kansas City schemed up plenty of one-on-one blocks for Jones, who harassed Chargers quarterback Easton Stick consistently with two QB hits and more than a half-dozen pressures in the first half. But the seven-figure half-sack proved elusive.
After a relatively quiet first defensive drive in the third quarter, Jones bull-rushed into Stick’s lap but couldn’t disengage quick enough to secure the sack.
Later in the dive, as Los Angeles moved into the red zone, Jones finally broke through, forcing a field-goal try with a third-down sack that touched off a wild celebration on the sideline.
INJURY REPORT: The goal in Week 18 was to escape unscathed, but the Chiefs weren't that lucky, including two injuries to key offensive linemen.
Left tackle Wanya Morris suffered a head injury late in the second quarter.
He was replaced by Jawaan Taylor, who has been the starting right tackle this season.
Morris was making his fifth consecutive start in place of Donovan Smith, who has been sidelined since early December with a neck injury.
Only a handful of plays after entering the game, Taylor suffered a knee injury when he was rolled into during a pass-blocking set.
He eventually returned to the game, and coach Andy Reid didn't mention Taylor after the game, so it must not have been too serious.
Midway through the third quarter, defensive back Chamarri Conner crushed Chargers wide receiver Quentin Johnson, who had run around the left end on a jet sweep.
After the massive collision, Conner stayed down on his hands and knees, then appeared unsteady after getting to his feet. He left the game to be evaluated for a head injury, but — a bit surprisingly — returned later.
Conner, a rookie fourth-round pick from Virginia Tech, has made 36 tackles, including a career-high eight Sunday before the injury, with an interception this season.
Wide receiver Justyn Ross, who made two catches for 17 yards on four targets, exited in the second half with a hamstring injury. He was suspended six games earlier in the season after he was arrested in Johnson County after a domestic violence incident.
After the game, Andy Reid said cornerback Jaylen Watson was kneed in the calf.
On the game's final drive, safety Deon Bush, a special-teams standout pressed into action with Kansas City resting several starters, appeared to suffer a right-arm injury.
Smith, wide receiver Rashee Rice (hamstring), cornerback L’Jarius Sneed (calf), tight end Travis Kelce (neck), Kadarius Toney (hip/ankle), quarterback Patrick Mahomes (ankle), cornerback Trent McDuffie (shoulder), running back Isiah Pacheco (quad/shoulder), linebacker Nick Bolton (wrist/abdomen) and right guard Trey Smith (illness) all sat out with the Chiefs unable to improve their playoff seeding.
Defensive end Mike Danna, who was inactive, safety Justin Reid, wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling and linebackers Willie Gay Jr. and Drue Tranquill also rested.
WAS TAYLOR SWIFT AT THE GAME?: Nope, she was not, but Taylor Swift is in the Los Angeles area.
Her concert documentary, “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” is nominated for a Golden Globe for Cinematic and Box Office Achievement.
She attended the 81st Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, about 13 1/2 miles from SoFi Stadium.
The film documents her wildly successful Eras Tour, which made two stops at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in July — and served as something of a launching pad for a relationship with Kelce.
Kansas City finished 6-3 when Swift attended a game, which she did frequently after she started dating Kelce, creating a wild collision of worlds between Swifties and Chiefs Kingdom.
NEXT UP: The Chiefs host either the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins or Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Super Wild Card Round next week at Arrowhead.
If the Bills win at the Dolphins on Sunday Night Football, it will be Miami coming to Kansas City.
A Dolphins win means the Steelers are coming to town — likely without NFL sack leader TJ Watt, who suffered a knee injury Saturday in a win at Baltimore.
Should Buffalo-Miami end in a tie, Josh Allen and company face Mahomes and company for a spot in the Divisional Round.
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