As the proud son of Mexican immigrants, I appreciate the NFL staging regular season games in Mexico, specifically Mexico City. Many Americans may not know this but American football is followed and played by many people south of the border; there is even a professional spring league called the Liga de Futbol Americano Profesional (their website can be found at this address: http://lfa.mx/). The Mexican national team has also finished runner-up twice in both the 1999 and 2003 IFAF World Championship (the “World Cup” of American football).

 First Quarter (3-0)

LA could have started the first quarter with a touchdown, but due to curious play calling in the red-zone, they settled for a 27 yard field goal. Nothing much was done after that: the Chargers missed a field goal and both Pat Mahomes (QB, KC) and Phillip Rivers (QB, LAC) threw interceptions.

Second Quarter (9-10)

The second quarter featured another Phillip Rivers pick that luckily didn’t go all the way to the house. Thanks to the interception, Pat Mahomes handed the ball of to LeSean McCoy for a 6 yard touchdown run. The point after was kicked fair, giving the Chiefs the lead at 3-7. Rivers and the Chargers offense again stumbled in the red-zone, managing another field goal from 26 yard. The Chiefs responded in kind with a field goal of their own, a boomer from 41 yards out. Before the close of the half the Chargers were able to secure another long field goal (it was from 49 yards out). This kept them at least one point away from drawing level.

Third Quarter (17-24)

The Chiefs received the kickoff following the break and immediately started driving downfield towards the end-zone. Pat Mahomes showed off his speed when none of his receivers were open; he ran for a 20 yard gain. The offense kept humming along, capping off their effort with another touchdown run coming from Darrel Williams (RB, KC).  The extra point after was good, moving the Chiefs further ahead 9-17. LA again didn’t do anything of note thereby surrendering the ball back to KC. With the ball in his hands, Mahomes easily drove the offense down the field, ending the drive with a beautiful touchdown pass to Travis Kelce (TE, KC). The PAT attempt was good, marking the score 9-24. Thankfully, LA did score a respondent touchdown of their own; it was a Rivers pass to Keenan Allen. They also successfully completed a two-point conversion, putting within one score of tying the game. The quarter shortly ended after the converison.

Fourth Quarter (17-24)

There were tense moments in the final minutes of the game, but the key plays were two interceptions from Phillip Rivers. There was an especially egregious one where his pass was picked on the goal line. If it was not picked off, the Chargers would have gone on to either tie the game or shoot for another two-point conversion.

Nota…

Los highlights del partido estan en medio del articulo arriba. Disfrutalo por favor.

Game Insights from Mexico City

Mike Badgley’s missed field goal in the first quarter was the first missed kick in four games at the Estadio Azteca.

Pat Mahomes’ pick in the first quarter was his first in three career games against the Chargers.

Travis Kelce is now the fastest tight end to reach 6,000+ receiving yards and 450+ receptions in NFL history.

Austin Ekeler has 7 games with 90+ scrimmage yards this season. He only had 5 such games in his previous 2 seasons combined.

Keenan Allen has 10+ targets in four of his last five games.

Phillip Rivers has 7 interceptions in his last two games.

Fantasy Stats from South of the Border

Patrick Mahomes (QB, KC) – 15.18 Points (182 Passing Yards with 1 Passing TD and 1 Interception + 59 Rushing Yards)

Phillip Rivers (QB, LAC) – 12.12 Points (353 Passing Yards with 1 Passing TD and 4 Interceptions + 1 2-Point Conversion)

Austin Ekeler (RB, LAC) – 21.2 Points (24 Rushing Yards + 8 Receptions for 108 Yards)

LeSean McCoy (RB, KC) – 15.7 Points (29 Rushing Yards and 1 Rushing TD + 4 Receptions for 28 Yards)

Darrel Williams (RB, KC) – 12.3 Points (35 Rushing Yards and 1 Rushing TD + 2 Receptions fro 8 Yards)

Keenan Allen (WR, LAC) – 21.1 Points (8 Receptions for 71 Yards and 1 Receiving TD)

Travis Kelce (TE, KC) – 22.2 Points (7 Receptions for 92 Yards and 1 Receiving TD)

Hunter Henry (TE, LAC) – 14.9 Points (6 Receptions for 69 Yards + 1 2-Point Conversion)

Chiefs Defense – 11 Points (2 Sacks + 4 Interceptions + 17 Points Allowed)