The Chargers had not done anything offensively for 59 minutes and 55 seconds, but they were a few feet from going to overtime against the Chiefs. San Diego was down 10-3, but a 78-yard drive had the team on the 1-yard line, then an offside call on the Chiefs nudged it to the half-yard line. A successful QB sneak and the game was theirs. But instead, they openly revolted against the concept of scoring a touchdown.
The Chargers got within a half-yard of tying the Chiefs, then decided to go backwards
The Chargers scared the Chiefs in the game’s closing seconds, but then they went back to playing like they did for the rest of the game.
First, they got a delay of game:
This was out of a timeout. They had an entire timeout to get ready and get set, and still managed not to get the ball snapped before the play clock expired. Philip Rivers, perhaps the NFL's most vociferous quarterback at urgently ordering the center to snap the ball, was furious.
This error moved the Chargers back to the 6-yard line ... and there, Chris Hairston got a false start:
That would move the Chargers back to the 11-yard line. Rivers' last-chance pass to tie the game was nearly caught by Danny Woodhead, but Dee Ford's coverage was too good:
It would’ve been silly if the Chargers went an entire game without scoring and somehow managed to win thanks to a late touchdown. Luckily, the same Chargers who were useless offensively for almost an entire game saved the day with their most inept play of the day.
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