Week 11: Daniel Sorensen‘s interception of Philip Rivers in Mexico
Scene: The Chiefs were pulling into their final game before a much-needed bye week. Coming off a frustrating loss at Tennessee, but confident upon the heels of Mahomes’ dazzling return, Kansas City looked to right the ship. Meanwhile, the Chargers were cornered at 4-6 and needed to beat 6-4 Kansas City in order to stay in playoff contention.
Down 24-17 with just 1:53 on the game clock, aging quarterback Philip Rivers took over at the LA 9-yard-line with zero timeouts. The Chargers had gained just 24 yards on their three previous possessions in the 4th quarter.
Kansas City was able to clamp down on Rivers for the most part, but the 16-year veteran was able to connect with 6’4″ wideout Mike Williams for a highlight-reel completion. After the 50-yard connection, LA had a first down at the KC 25-yard-line with 44 seconds left to play.
A screen pass to running back Austin Ekeler gave the Chargers another first down at the Kansas City 14, but Ekeler was unable to get out of bounds on the play. The Chargers hurried to the line and spiked it on first down, giving the Chargers three chances to try to get a touchdown from the 14-yard-line. It was all or nothing.
The Chargers lined up on 2nd down. The Chiefs were in a press man-to-man, and Rivers locked in on Ekeler, who snuck out to the right on a wheel route to the goal-line. Rivers floated a pass to the 5’10” running back, who was single-covered by 6’2″ safety Daniel Sorensen. It wasn’t even a contest for the sixth-year pro from BYU, as Sorensen sealed the victory with an airborne interception in the end zone. Rivers’ fourth pick of the day could not have come at a worse time for Los Angeles.
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With Rivers hungry for a chance at a ring that has eluded him for his entire career, the Chargers came to play that night. But Dirty Dan had other plans. Little did we know in that moment, but that win would the first in a nine-game winning streak.
Had that play gone another way, the evidence suggests that Chargers coach Anthony Lynn would likely have gone for two and the win. That is how L.A. beat the Chiefs in 2018. If the Bolts had instead squeaked out of Estudio Azteca with the victory, the Chiefs would have dropped to 6-5 and into second place in the AFC West behind the Raiders.