Kenneth Walker III continued his dominant start with the Kansas City Chiefs, rushing for 128 yards and two touchdowns as the hosts improved to 5-0 with a 22-6 victory over the winless Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.
The reigning Super Bowl MVP, who joined Kansas City in free agency after leading Seattle to a championship, powered the offense throughout. He broke free for a 33-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter to push the Chiefs ahead 9-0 after Harrison Butker’s missed extra point. Later in the half, Walker capped an eight-play, 80-yard drive with a 2-yard score, helping stake Kansas City to a 19-3 halftime lead before Butker added a 50-yard field goal as time expired.
Patrick Mahomes finished 23 of 30 for 272 yards with no touchdowns and one interception, earning his 100th career regular-season victory as a starter. Xavier Worthy led the receiving corps with seven catches for 73 yards, while Travis Kelce added four receptions for 53. The Chiefs managed the game without injured wide receivers Rashee Rice and Tyquan Thornton, relying on balanced play and Walker’s ground game.
Kansas City’s defense held firm against an injury-depleted Chargers attack. Justin Herbert completed 22 of 37 passes for 204 yards with one interception—his league-leading eighth of the season—and was sacked four times. The Chargers managed just 259 total yards and failed to score a touchdown, falling to 0-6 for the franchise’s worst start since 2000.
Wide receiver Ladd McConkey, returning from a foot injury, exited early with a concussion after one catch for 17 yards and was ruled out. The Chargers also dealt with other absences in the receiving corps.
A controversial roughing-the-passer penalty on Chiefs edge rusher Ashton Gillotte wiped out an interception by Christian Roland-Wallace in the second quarter. CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore and Chiefs coach Andy Reid criticized the call as overly lenient, with many observers agreeing the contact did not warrant the flag. Kansas City still forced a later interception by Jack Cochrane on the same drive and maintained control.
Butker added a 30-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to close the scoring. The Chiefs joined San Francisco and Minnesota as the NFL’s only remaining unbeaten teams, while the Chargers head into their bye week still searching for their first win of the season.
