Eric D. Williams, ESPN Staff Writer 6y

Chiefs overwhelm turnover-prone, injury-riddled Chargers

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- They were one of the healthiest teams in the NFL heading into Saturday's contest against the Kansas City Chiefs, but the injury bug finally caught up to the Los Angeles Chargers in a 30-13 humbling on the road.

The Chargers lost starting middle linebacker Denzel Perryman to a hamstring injury, safety Adrian Phillips to an ankle injury and defensive tackle Corey Liuget to a knee injury.

Phillips' wife, Camille, actually made her way down to the field to check on her husband and had to be escorted off the field by security.

On offense, the Chargers had to play stretches of the game without tackles Joe Barksdale (foot) and Russell Okung (groin), as well as receiver Keenan Allen (back) and running back Austin Ekeler (hand).

That, along with four second-half turnovers -- including three interceptions by Philip Rivers -- proved to be too much to overcome for the Chargers, who fell to 7-7 on the season.

"As a coaching staff, we have to look ourselves in the face and say, 'Why didn't we get our guys ready to play their best in a big game like this?'" Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn said. "We missed tackles. We didn't execute well on offense, and we went back to some dumb penalties that we had earlier in the year."

Entering Saturday's contest, the Chargers had a league-low six turnovers since Week 5 and had won seven of their past nine games. They have now lost to the Chiefs eight straight times.

Rivers also threw three interceptions in a 24-10 loss to the Chiefs in Week 3.

"We kind of fell apart in a sense," Rivers said. "We just didn't execute. Obviously, give them credit. But just what we talked during the last four games, not turning the ball over and getting takeaways, we were just the opposite of that today."

The victory gives Kansas City (8-6) the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Bolts, basically giving the Chiefs a two-game lead in the division with two to play.

The only way the Chiefs would not win the AFC West is if they finished 0-2, the Chargers finished 2-0 or the Raiders finished 3-0.

According to ESPN's Football Power Index, the Chargers now have a 17 percent chance to reach the postseason.

The loss wasted an impressive effort by running back Melvin Gordon. The Wisconsin product finished with 169 yards from scrimmage, including six catches for 91 yards and a 2-yard run for a score.

Per ESPN Stats & Information, Gordon has four rushing touchdowns against the Chiefs in the past two seasons, the most of any player against Kansas City.

One thing Gordon knows how to do is get in the end zone. Gordon's 11 total touchdowns is tied for second in the NFL. He has 23 touchdowns over the past two seasons, second only to Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott.

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