KC Chiefs vs Chargers: Jaylen Watson deserves game ball for Week 2

Jaylen Watson’s fourth-quarter interception earned him the Week 2 Arrowhead Addict game ball after the Chiefs beat the Chargers on Thursday Night Football

Happy Victory Friday, Chiefs Kingdom, and shoutout to the Week 2 Arrowhead Addict game ball recipient, Jaylen Watson!

The Chiefs and Chargers made yet another intense addition to the rivalry within the era of Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert last night, and Kansas City escaped Week 2 with a 2-0 record. After fending off last-minute Herbert heroics, and an onside kick that came unnervingly close to allowing him back onto the field, sole possession of first place in the AFC West belongs to Kansas City.

The Chargers simply looked better than the Chiefs for four quarters of football last night, but resilience shined through as Kansas City was able to, seemingly, out-will Los Angeles. There were a number of momentum swings in the game, from Derwin James body slamming Travis Kelce to Clyde Edwards-Helaire returning the favor and trucking James shortly thereafter. However, one moment, in particular, made an insurmountable shift in the trajectory of the game’s outcome. The man responsible for that moment, Jaylen Watson, deserves every ounce of praise that will be coming to him over the weekend.

With roughly 10:30 seconds remaining on the game clock, the Chargers were in the midst of a five-minute, eight-play drive that started the fourth quarter. Deep into Kansas City territory, Justin Herbert took a shotgun snap and targeted Gerald Everett at the goal line. Chiefs rookie cornerback—seventh-round pick—Jaylen Watson slid underneath Everett in coverage, picked the ball off, and returned it 99 yards to the house for a score.

If Arrowhead Stadium had a roof it would have been blown off by the crowd’s eruption, and although Herbert was able to make a couple of miraculous throws down the stretch, that particular moment proved impossible for the Chargers to overcome.

In the first start of his career, under the bright lights of primetime, Jaylen Watson owned the moment and began writing the underdog story that will be his success in the NFL.