4 winners and 3 losers from Chiefs’ embarrassing loss to the Chargers

The 2024 Kansas City Chiefs season concluded on a miserable note. One game later, the Chiefs still insisted on playing terrible football. On Friday, the Chiefs opened their season with a 26-17 loss to the L.A. Chargers and now face the prospect of going home to host the team that embarrassed them in Super Bowl LIX.

The possibility of starting 0-2 feels more probable than not after watching the entire team look jet lagged and uninspired for the majority of four quarters. Patrick Mahomes pulled out plenty of tricks in his best attempt to will the Chiefs to another win, but a lack of discipline robbed K.C. of any chance to stay in step with the Chargers.

On a night where everyone feels like a loser, some should own it more than others. Here's our list of some of the night's biggest winners and losers.

Loser: Jawaan Taylor

What needs to be said here? On a night in which multiple members of the Chiefs roster made costly errors on both sides of the ball, it was Taylor who stood out as the worst offender of all. A player already known for committing penalties was called for four more on Friday night, many of them coming at critical times. Fans have been over Taylor for quite some time, but knowing Jaylon Moore is just sitting there waiting feels cruel at this point.

Winner: Patrick Mahomes

On a night where the Chiefs made everyone in the Kingdom absolutely miserable for four full quarters, there's no denying that Mahomes is still every bit the magician he's ever been. Insane throws across his body on the run. Creating opportunities out of thin air. Extending drives with his legs. Making up for the mistakes of everyone around him.

Mahomes wasn't perfect on the night, but the Chiefs are playing as if he has to be in order for them to win. It didn't work like it did for most of last season, but this loss is not on Mahomes' shoulders. He looked as good as ever.

Winner: The WR curse

Yeah, this is a bit backward, but we have to admit that the Chiefs WR curse has won again. Xavier Worthy was lost for the game after just three plays with a shoulder injury—suffered while running into Travis Kelce.

Rashee Rice is already out for six games, and Jalen Royals sat out the game with knee tendinitis. It's not as if anyone is counting on Hollywood Brown to stay healthy for the duration of the season either. That makes yet another taxing stretch on a room that's been burdened by injuries and lack of impactful talent for years.

Winner: Drue Tranquill

While there were a couple of miscues, including a moment he got juked pretty badly by Justin Herbert, Drue Tranquill played over his head on Friday night in a losing effort. While his teammates had an impossible time getting to the QB, Tranquill racked up two sacks and had more than one impressive run stop versus the Chargers.

Seeing his impact made it all the scarier when Tranquill went down with an injury in the second half for a spell, but fortunately he was able to return. The Chiefs defense has a lot to figure out after watching an inconsistent and sometimes confusing effort against the Chargers, but Tranquill held up his end of the bargain.

Losers: Chiefs pass rush

We just honored Drue Tranquill's two sacks, but Justin Herbert put up MVP numbers on the night in part because he had enough time to bake a cake when going back to pass. The Chiefs front four couldn't get anything going all night long, and that's saying something in a game like this.

For those paying attention, the Chargers offensive line is not exaclty the gold standard. They were already settling for mediocrity by starting Bradley Bozeman and Zion Johnson inside. Then Rashawn Slater was lost for the season which forced another average player into the lineup in Trey Pipkins. Somehow those players all held their own and gave Herbert all the time in the world to pick the Chiefs' defense apart.

The lack of impact from a unit that's eating up so much cap space and high-level draft investments is very frustrating.

Winner: Tyquan Thornton

The box score won't show the dynamism offered by Thornton on this team in Week 1, which is a shame because the former Patriots receiver deserves plenty of attention after showing what he can do against L.A.

Thornton took the first kickoff of the game back 42 yards before the return was called back due to penalty. He also beat his man time and again down the field even though his timing with Mahomes was off. Still he came away with a fantastic deep connection of 38 yards and a scintillating display of what's possible if he's given more chances.

In the face of numerous WR concerns, Thornton's presence offers some peace of mind for the Chiefs offense.

Loser: Elijah Mitchell

The Chiefs decided to go into their Friday night game against the Chargers with a backfield trio anchored by Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco. That left only one place to sit in a game of musical chairs, and Elijah Mitchell was the one left out.

Mitchell was always a lottery ticket for the Chiefs, an irrelevant player for the last three years due to injuries, with a surprising and exciting history as a rookie with the San Francisco 49ers—back in 2021. He showed enough in training camp to make the 53-man roster, and the Chiefs apparently weren't concerned about the state of the position at roster cuts, since they refused to make any changes despite tinkering at other spots.

That left Brashard Smith, a seventh-round rookie, in the last remaining spot and Mitchell is on the outside looking in. For a team that needs an offensive spark anywhere they can find it, Mitchell being left out is not a good sign.