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Justin Herbert’s play this season gave rise to visions of future duels with Patrick Mahomes, but the Chargers rookie had to settle for Chad Henne on Sunday.
The Chiefs left Patrick Mahomes on the bench with the AFC seeded head and that gave him the chance to see Herbert throw for three touchdowns in the 38-21 Chargers victory. The win gave Chargers a record 7-9 of the season and they ended the year with a four-game winning streak.
Ending this way should make it more likely that coach Anthony Lynn will return for a fifth season and a second year with Herbert in charge of the attack. Herbert had already set a new quarterback touchdown record and ends the year with 31 of them.
He also ran to score on Sunday and shot 302 yards in victory. Herbert and Vikings’ wide receiver, Justin Jefferson, are likely to be the top candidates for offensive rookie of the year.
With Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce and many others serving as Chiefs, there was little reason to think that they could match the Chargers’ offensive production. Chad Henne led some initial touchdown attempts, but the team managed only 268 yards for the game.
This is unlikely to cause many sleepless nights in Kansas City, because the Chiefs know the road to the Super Bowl goes through Arrowhead Stadium.