The Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers opened their 2025 seasons in São Paulo, Brazil, on Friday night. The two AFC West rivals went back and forth all night, but Chargers’ quarterback Justin Herbert outlasted the Chiefs for a 27-21 season-opening win.
While it’s great for the Chargers to start 1-0, especially against the reigning division champions, it was also the first time Herbert had defeated Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes since 2021.
In 2021, the Oregon Ducks’ product was only in his second year in the NFL, but picked up his sole win over Mahomes, until Friday night.
Herbert Shined Bright on Friday Night
Herbert opened the season with a terrific performance, completing 25 of his 34 pass attempts for 318 yards and three touchdowns, and collected another 32 yards on the ground.
The former Oregon Duck spread the ball around to eight different receivers and four of them had at least 50 yards.
Since Herbert came into the NFL as the sixth-overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, he’s been the model of consistency. After throwing for nearly 3,500 yards and 32 touchdowns in his senior year at Oregon, Herbert started 15 games in his rookie year and achieved 4,336 passing yards and 31 touchdowns.
The Chargers’ 22-year-old quarterback earned the Rookie of the Year award and only got better in 2021. Herbert threw for a career-high 5,014 yards and 38 touchdowns, including a 281-yard and four-touchdown performance against the Chiefs.
JUSTIN HERBERT CALLS GAME. WHAT A NIGHT.
KCvsLAC on YouTube https://t.co/JVXS9sMrs3 pic.twitter.com/SslSt8mKPd
— NFL (@NFL) September 6, 2025
Herbert did his best impression to match that performance on Friday night, collecting more passing yards and rushing yards, but one fewer touchdown than in 2021’s win over the Chiefs.
Herbert was a star at Oregon, accumulating more than 10,500 passing yards and 95 touchdowns throughout his four years with the Ducks, and that success hasn’t stopped at the next level.
The Chargers’ quarterback has been a rising star throughout his first five years in the NFL, but he hasn’t been able to have much success against Mahomes’ Chiefs, or win a playoff game.
Herbert accomplished the first of those two feats on Friday night. The Chargers have made it to the wild card and lost in two of the last three years. Maybe 2025 is the year Herbert can lead the Chargers over the hump.
