There wasn’t any question of what t do in the minds of the Kansas City Chiefs.
After quarterback Tyler Thigpen led the Chiefs on a late touchdown drive that pulled them within 20-19, Chiefs coach Herm Edwards decided they would go for the two-point conversion and the win over the host San Diego Chargers Sunday.
Tony Gonzalez, who caught the 3-yard touchdown pass from Thigpen with 23 seconds left, knew the Chiefs were going for two.
“It’s a situation obviously for us, with only one win this season, let’s go for it,” Gonzalez said.
“When you’re 1-7, it isn’t even a question of what you do,” Edwards said. “These guys deserve to win football games.”
Playing his fourth game, Thigpen was 27-of-41 for 266 yards and three touchdowns and nearly got his first win as a starter.
But Chargers safety Clinton Hart calmed down from drawing a pass interference penalty and quickly decided he wasn’t going to be the scapegoat.
Burned by a penalty and then a touchdown catch by Gonzalez, Hart swatted away Thigpen’s two-point conversion pass intended for Gonzalez to preserve the Chargers’ 20-19 win over the lowly but scrappy Chiefs.
“As the call happened, I said to myself, I wasn’t going to let him score this two-point conversion,” Hart said.
“We knew they were going for the win. Denver did it, and I guess they figured they could do it. But surprise, surprise, we stood up and made a difference,” Hart added.
The Chargers lost to Denver 39-38 in Week 2 when the Broncos made a last-minute two-point conversion.
San Diego’s defense played so erratically in the season’s first half that defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell was fired and replaced by inside linebackers coach Ron Rivera.
Despite coming off their bye, the Chargers (4-5) looked lethargic in the first half and were booed heading to the locker room trailing 13-6.
Philip Rivers rallied them with two touchdown passes late in the game, then Hart saved them.
Thigpen moved the Chiefs (1-8) to the Chargers 18 with 41 seconds left. On a second-down pass, Hart came from the side to knock a pass away from Gonzalez and was called for a questionable pass interference penalty that gave the Chiefs a first-and-goal at the 1. After an incomplete pass and a 2-yard loss by fullback Mike Cox, Gonzalez caught a 3-yard touchdown pass to pull the Chiefs within one. Hart and nickel back Antoine Cason were covering Gonzalez tightly.
Then came the big play. Hart deflected Thigpen’s pass right to Quentin Jammer, who made the interception while on the ground.
“I got into him really good,” Hart said. “I pressed him. He gets his big body and tries to push you off, and he tried to push me off. I latched onto the inside of his pads and I said, ‘I’m not going to let you push me off.’ And I kind of got underneath him, got the ball down. Jammer got a pick.”
Gonzalez thought there should have been a flag.
“It was ridiculous, he held me,” the tight end said.
Hart disagreed.
“If he pushes me off, they’re not going to call it,” Hart said. “I said to myself, ‘I’m not going to let him push me off because if I’m holding my ground, I’ve got a right to my spot.’ That’s what I did. I held my ground.”
Gonzalez had 10 catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns.
“At that point, the way my game was going, I felt like that was all he could do because if he would have given me an inch, I thought Tyler was going to throw it up there, and obviously I’m taller than him and maybe I could have made that play,” Gonzalez said. “But you never know. That’s just confidence speaking. He’s a good football player. It was a good battle. Give him credit.”
The Chargers’ defense played much better after allowing two long scoring drives in the first half. Before the Chiefs’ final TD drive, they gained only 46 yards on 18 plays in the second half.
“We understand that, hey, if we don’t get this going, it might be more than just D-coordinator changes,” Hart said.
Asked if he saw improvement in the defense, Chargers coach Norv Turner said: “I think we made some stops that were big-time and that’s an improvement.”
Rivers threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Malcom Floyd to tie the game late in the third quarter, then hit tight end Antonio Gates on a go-ahead, 8-yard score with just under 7 minutes left.
Gates’ TD gave the Chargers their first lead. San Diego remained one game behind Denver in the anemic AFC West.
Rivers completed 27 of 36 passes for 316 yards.
Thigpen, who started the season as the Chiefs’ third-string quarterback, outplayed Rivers in the first two quarters. He finished off long drives by throwing scoring passes of 30 yards to Mark Bradley and 34 yards to Gonzalez.
The Chiefs never got off the PAT after Gonzalez’s first TD because of a low snap by Thomas Gafford, who was playing his second game in relief of the injured Jean-Philippe Darche. Holder Dustin Colquitt attempted a pass but it was tipped and fell incomplete.
CHIEFS NOTES: Gonzalez tied Hall of Famer and former Charger Kellen Winslow with his 24th career 100-yard receiving game, tops among tight ends. … LaDainian Tomlinson passed O.J. Simpson and Corey Dillon for 15th place on the career rushing list at 11,279 yards. He gained 78 yards on 22 carries.
CHARGERS 20, CHIEFS 19
Kansas City 7 6 0 6 — 19
San Diego 0 6 7 7 — 20
First Quarter
KC—Bradley 30 pass from Thigpen (Barth kick), 3:15.
Second Quarter
SD—FG Kaeding 34, 14:03.
SD—FG Kaeding 26, 6:47.
KC—Gonzalez 34 pass from Thigpen (pass failed), 3:11.
Third Quarter
SD—Floyd 5 pass from Rivers (Kaeding kick), 3:43.
Fourth Quarter
SD—Gates 8 pass from Rivers (Kaeding kick), 6:55.
KC—Gonzalez 3 pass from Thigpen (pass failed), :23.
A—67,510.
KC SD
First downs 19 23
Total Net Yards 339 400
Rushes-yards 18-76 26-92
Passing 263 308
Punt Returns 1-(-1) 1-(-2)
Kickoff Returns 4-105 1-26
Interceptions Ret. 2-4 0-0
Comp-Att-Int 27-41-0 27-36-2
Sacked-Yards Lost 1-3 2-8
Punts 6-40.7 3-44.0
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-0
Penalties-Yards 3-16 5-37
Time of Possession 25:10 34:50
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Kansas City, Savage 12-44, Thigpen 2-26, Charles 3-8, Cox 1-(minus 2). San Diego, Tomlinson 22-78, Sproles 3-15, Rivers 1-(minus 1).
PASSING—Kansas City, Thigpen 27-41-0-266. San Diego, Rivers 27-36-2-316.
RECEIVING—Kansas City, Gonzalez 10-113, Bradley 9-81, Bowe 6-72, Savage 2-0. San Diego, Gates 8-66, Jackson 5-83, Floyd 4-76, Tomlinson 4-39, Tolbert 3-37, Sproles 3-15.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.
