The Kansas City Chiefs and Arrowhead Stadium Roar, Literally, On Thursday Night Football

Thursday Night Football opened in Kansas City this past week at GEHA at Arrowhead Stadium. The highly anticipated matchup featured the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers. This Thursday Night matchup was unique because it marked the first game on Amazon Prime since the purchase by the company a year ago. The September 15th broadcast brought in a record number of newly subscribed Amazon Prime members over a three-hour period. Amazon is set to televise fifteen Thursday Night Football games this season and for the next decade. The company paid an astounding $1 billion annually for the broadcasting rights. The broadcast booth features the widely known, Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit. Al Michaels was formally with the company NBC and was the primary announcer for Sunday Night Football games. Herbstreit comes from ESPN as he is known for his expertise in College Football.

No Place Like Home

There was no better place to have the first Thursday Night Football broadcast for Amazon. GEHA at Arrowhead Stadium is known for loud noises and high decibel levels. The stadium broke a Guinness World Record in September of 2014 when the Chiefs faced the Tom Brady-led Patriots. The Chiefs rowdy fan base cheered them to a 41-14 win and reached a mark of 142.2 decibels, which is the loudest ever. Arrowhead Stadium was packed and ready to go for the long-awaited rematch of last year.

The last time the two division opponents faced off, the Chiefs went into SOFI Stadium in Los Angeles and beat the Chargers on a game-winning touchdown in overtime from Travis Kelce. The final score was 34-28, and football fans across the world anticipated another great showdown between the two teams. Both teams are led by great, young quarterbacks, Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert. The history between the two players is short and Herbert was up 2-1 in the series before Thursday night.

Chiefs Start Out Slow

The Chiefs had a slow start to the game as they were forced to punt on their first two drives. The frustration was in the air as the Chargers opened the game with two scoring drives and led 10-0 early. Mahomes and the Chiefs offense responded immediately in the second quarter in fashion, as Mahomes rolled out right and made two defenders miss while throwing a side-armed pass to the veteran, Jerrick McKinnon for the 9-yard touchdown. The two teams went scoreless for the rest of their first half, and the Chargers led 10-7 through two quarters. Herbert and the Chargers responded quickly on the very next drive with a spectacular throw and catch to Mike Williams. The Chargers received the ball at the half and opened the third quarter with an 11-play 75-yard drive for a touchdown to go up 17-7.

The Inevitable Comeback

Luckily for Chiefs fans, Mahomes is historically great when being down 10 points in the second half. The Chiefs answered with a 75-yard drive of their own as they scored on a 41-yard connection from Mahomes to the new Kansas City Chief, Justin Watson. The Chiefs later kicked a field goal to tie the game at 17 entering the 4th quarter. The fanbase at GEHA at Arrowhead Stadium reached its peak crowd noise after a 99-yard pick-six from the seventh round draft pick out of Washington State, Jaylen Watson. The interception for six points capped off with an extra point put the Chiefs up 7 with ten minutes remaining in the game. Both teams went scoreless for the next seven minutes. The drought was broken at the three-minute mark when the Chiefs decided to kick a field goal on 4th and 1 at the Chargers 18-yard line. The Chiefs were up ten with a couple of minutes to go and a 2-0 start to the 2022 season looked promising. Herbert and the Chargers scored a late touchdown with a minute left to get the game within three. Unfortunately, it was much too late, as the Chiefs recovered the onside kick to seal the game 27-24.

The Kansas City Chiefs are now 2-0 and Mahomes is now 22-3 against divisional opponents. However, the Mahomes versus Herbert rivalry is now tied up at two wins a piece. The Chiefs open as –6.5 favorites against the Indianapolis Colts next Sunday and look to start the 2022-23 campaign 3-0. On the other hand, the Chargers will be back in Los Angeles ready to bounce back against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Chargers are -7.5 point favorites at home against the Jaguars.