SportsDirect Inc. staff
Nov 24, 2013
Chargers 41, Chiefs 38: Philip Rivers passed for 392 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winning 26-yard strike to Seyi Ajirotutu with 24 seconds left, as visiting San Diego won a shootout with Kansas City.
Keenan Allen caught nine passes for 124 yards and Danny Woodhead scored rushing and receiving touchdowns for the Chargers (5-6), who rolled up 491 total yards - the most the Chiefs have allowed all season. Rivers was 27-of-39 and reached 3,000 passing yards and 20 passing touchdowns for the eighth consecutive season.
Jamaal Charles rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns and Alex Smith went 26-for-38 for 294 yards with three touchdowns and an interception for the Chiefs (9-2), who have lost two straight following a 9-0 start. Donnie Avery caught four passes for 91 yards and a touchdown and Dwayne Bowe added a touchdown grab for Kansas City.
Smith hit Avery for a 32-yard touchdown pass and Charles scored on a 7-yard run as Kansas City took a 14-3 lead, but San Diego marched 80 yards and Rivers threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Woodhead to cut it to 14-10 just before halftime. The lead changed hands seven times in the second half as both offenses came to life.
Smith marched the Chiefs 55 yards in six plays and hit Bowe with a 5-yard strike to put Kansas City ahead 38-34 with 1:22 left, but Rivers answered. The Chargers went 78 yards in seven plays with Rivers lofting a perfect pass into the end zone that Ajirotutu slid under on the left sideline for his first touchdown since 2010.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Chiefs lost LBs Tamba Hali (ankle) and Justin Houston (elbow) to injuries in the first half. … Smith's interception in the third quarter was his first in 133 pass attempts. … Chargers TE Antonio Gates had three catches for 21 yards, becoming the fourth tight end in NFL history with 700 receptions.