KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Much like in the 2015 season, the San Diego Chargers found a way to lose in the team’s season opener.
The Chargers held a commanding 24-3 lead midway through the third quarter, only to squander it in the fourth, losing to the Kansas City Chiefs 33-27 in overtime on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.
San Diego held a 27-10 advantage with just over 13 minutes remaining. However, a Kansas City offense that struggled to move the ball most of the game then came to life, scoring 17 unanswered points to tie the game at 27 with just over a minute left in regulation.
After a San Diego drive stalled at the Chargers’ 35-yard line, the two teams went to overtime.
The Chiefs won the toss and took the opening drive 70 yards for the winning score, with Alex Smith plunging into the end zone from 2 yards out on a quarterback keeper.
The Chargers' late-game meltdown harked back to their struggles closing out games last season, when they finished 3-9 in games decided by eight points or fewer.
“We can’t lose those,” Chargers linebacker Manti Te’o said. “The momentum was going our way for the majority of the game. You can’t win the game in the first, second or third quarter, but you can win it and lose it in the fourth quarter.
“We’ll rebound. There’s a lot of good to look at. As we all know, there’s a lot things we can work on, too.”
San Diego’s setback spoiled a solid game by second-year running back Melvin Gordon, who got into the end zone for the first time in his NFL career. He scored from a yard out on the team’s opening drive, then added a 6-yard plunge on the next possession, helping San Diego jump out to a 14-3 lead.
The Wisconsin product had shown glimpses of turning the corner during the preseason, scoring two long touchdowns during exhibition play. Against the Chiefs, picked by many NFL prognosticators to win the AFC West, Gordon proved he could perform once the games count. He finished with 59 rushing yards, but only 18 of those came in the second half, as Chargers head coach Mike McCoy made the curious choice of putting his every-down running back on ice.
“Ken’s (offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt) is calling the game the way we see it as the flow of the game goes – the rhythm of the game and how you’re going to do things,” McCoy said. “Like we’ve been talking all of the time, they’re all going to play.
“I was very pleased with the way he ran the ball today.”
Danny Woodhead led the Chargers with 89 rushing yards, along with and a 4-yard touchdown catch.