Chiefs’ Matthew Wright’s LinkedIn profile shows a plethora of part-time NFL stints sandwiched around a full-time role as a systems engineer associate for Lockheed Martin, a defense contractor specializing in integrated solutions. The only integrated solution the Chiefs’ kicker needed in Sunday night’s 19-17 win over the Chargers was a favorable doink.
“It’s the doink for the division, for the Chiefs,” Mike Tirico exclaimed on the NBC broadcast, after Wright banked a 31-yard field goal off the left upright with no time remaining. The third kicker used by Kansas City this year secured the franchise’s ninth consecutive division crown. And even though the ball literally bounced Kansas City’s way, former Chiefs and Chargers quarterback Chase Daniel said it’s time to stop using any form of the word “luck” to describe the Chiefs.
“The Chiefs are not lucky, they’re calloused,” Daniel said Monday on The Facility. “I’m sick and tired of the ‘luck’ … they’re just a good team. They find ways to win the football game, week in and week out, year in and year out – for nine straight seasons.”
Kansas City (12-1) improved to 10-0 this year in one-score games, seven on the last snap of the game. In NFL history, only one team has won as many one-possession games in a single season: the 1978 Houston Oilers, who were 10-3. The Chiefs are 15-0 in one-possession contests dating back to 2023, including postseason. Daniel noted that the Chargers (8-5), playing without their best back JK Dobbins and without their best receiver Ladd McConkey still battled back from a 13-0 deficit, and did it with a hobbled Justin Herbert. In fact, the Chargers’ quarterback led them to a 17-16 advantage with 4:35 remaining in regulation. But the Chiefs weren’t going to allow Herbert another shot, draining the clock to one second before calling timeout.
“They’re finding new ways to win,” said Daniel, who played in Kansas City from 2013-15. “That’s what Andy Reid does. He just gives you that belief. And when Patrick Mahomes walks out there, ‘Oh, they’re going to win.’”
Mahomes walked out there after the two-minute warning and pulverized the Chargers’ hearts. Trailing by a point on third-and-7 from the Los Angeles 21-yard line, he rolled to his right, somehow sidestepped a full-speed Daiyan Henley and beat a crushing hit from Joey Bosa. Then, Mahomes locked onto a stationary Travis Kelce for an 11-yard first down to set up Wright’s field goal.
The Chiefs’ string of nine consecutive division titles is second longest in league annals, trailing only New England’s 11 straight AFC East crowns from 2009-19. Now, Kansas City’s target is homefield advantage throughout the playoffs and the AFC’s only first-round bye. That’s significant because Kansas City has won nine consecutive games at Arrowhead Stadium, dating to last season. The Chiefs will put that streak on hold next week when they visit Cleveland (3-10).
Herbert, meanwhile, matched Tom Brady’s 2010 NFL record with an 11th straight start in the same season without an interception. The last time Herbert threw an interception was Sept. 15 at Carolina. His current streak of 335 passes without an interception is the fifth-longest stretch ever. Despite the loss, the Chargers are still in the thick of the AFC playoff race. They need a win next week at home against Tampa Bay (7-6) to keep pace.
For more information on the Chiefs and Chargers, visit the Kansas City and L.A. Chargers team pages at ProFootballPost.com.
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