If only the Los Angeles Chargers could play all their games 6,000 miles from home. They went to Sao Paulo, Brazil, and knocked off Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, snapping a seven-game losing streak against their AFC West rival that dated to 2021.
“The longer the travel, the better it makes for the feeling of breaking through, overcoming,” coach Jim Harbaugh said. “It was awesome.”
Click to Gallery
Los Angeles Chargers running back Najee Harris is tackled by the Kansas City Chiefs during the second half of an NFL football game, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in Sao Paulo. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes passes under pressure from Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Khalil Mack during the second half of an NFL football game, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in Sao Paulo. (AP Photo/Doug Benc)
Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen catches a pass ahead of Kansas City Chiefs safety Chamarri Conner during the second half of an NFL football game, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in Sao Paulo. (AP Photo/Jeff Lewis)
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert leaves the field after an NFL football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, in Sao Paulo. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Harbaugh favors the run game, but the Chargers went to the air in a surprise move that helped them take the early lead in a 27-21 season-opening win on Friday night.
Quarterback Justin Herbert completed 25 of 34 passes for 318 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.
Then Herbert used his legs to secure the win. With two minutes left and the Chiefs having no timeouts, he scrambled to his right for a 19-yard gain on third-and-14, sliding to stay inbounds and keep the clock ticking.
“Justin was phenomenal in every way," Harbaugh said.
The Chargers led all the way, and each time the Chiefs cut the lead, the Chargers responded against a team that has won nine straight AFC West titles. They answered with touchdowns after the Chiefs got to 13-12 and 20-18.
“I just want to stack the games,” safety Derwin James Jr. said. "The season doesn’t end with this game and we know we’re going to have to play that team again, but it helps. Being 1-0 in the division is very big for our team.”
Defensive coordinator Jesse Minter had months to plan for the season opener and it showed. The Chiefs, who ranked second in the NFL in third down conversion rate last season, were held to just 5 of 14 third downs. The Chiefs failed to convert any of their first seven tries on third down, highlighted by Daiyan Henley's sack in the red zone. The Chargers defense limited Kansas City to 98 rushing yards.
Turns out the receiving group isn't the dud some thought it might be. Herbert hooked up with old target Keenan Allen for a TD, Quentin Johnston caught two TD passes and Ladd McConkey caught six passes for 74 yards. Rookie Tre Harris had just one catch for 11 yards.
Left tackle Joe Alt anchored an offensive line that helped the Bolts accumulate 394 yards. Alt moved from right to left tackle, a position he last played at Notre Dame, after Rashawn Slater went down with a season-ending injury during training camp. Harbaugh called Alt “maybe the best and most improved player on our team, and he was so good last year.”
Running back Najee Harris lost his starting role in the opener to rookie Omarion Hampton. Harris sustained an eye injury in a July 4 fireworks incident in Northern California and missed all of training camp. He had one carry for 5 yards and one catch for 5 yards. Hampton had 15 carries for 48 yards.
Linebacker Denzel Perryman hurt his ankle in the second quarter and did not return. He was in a walking boot afterward.
375 — Wide receiver Keenan Allen caught seven passes in São Paulo for a career total of 375 from Herbert. Allen previously had 520 catches from retired QB Philip Rivers, making him the third player in NFL history with 375 catches from multiple passers along with Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Tony Gonzalez.
Herbert has a 6-3 record against the Las Vegas Raiders, the next opponent on Sept. 15, with an average of 279.6 passing yards.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Los Angeles Chargers running back Najee Harris is tackled by the Kansas City Chiefs during the second half of an NFL football game, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in Sao Paulo. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes passes under pressure from Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Khalil Mack during the second half of an NFL football game, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in Sao Paulo. (AP Photo/Doug Benc)
Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen catches a pass ahead of Kansas City Chiefs safety Chamarri Conner during the second half of an NFL football game, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in Sao Paulo. (AP Photo/Jeff Lewis)
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert leaves the field after an NFL football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, in Sao Paulo. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Thailand (AP) — A construction crane collapsed onto an elevated road near Bangkok, killing two people on Thursday, a day after another crane fell on a moving passenger train in northeastern Thailand and killed 32 people.
The work on an extension of the Rama 2 Road expressway — a major artery leading from Bangkok — has become notorious for construction accidents, some of them fatal.
The crane collapsed at part of the road project in Samut Sakhon province, trapping two vehicles in the wreckage, according to the government’s Public Relations Department.
Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said on Thai TV Channel 7 that two people had died. It was unclear if anyone else had been trapped in the wreckage.
There was uncertainty about the number of victims because the site is still considered too dangerous for search teams to enter, said Suchart Tongteng, a rescue worker with the Ruamkatanyu Foundation.
“At this moment, we still can’t say whether another collapse could happen,” he said, citing dangling steel plates. “That’s why there are no rescue personnel inside the scene, only teams conducting on-site safety assessments.”
At the site of Wednesday's train derailment, the search for survivors ended, Nakhon Ratchasima Gov. Anuphong Suksomnit said. Three passengers listed as missing were presumed to have gotten off the train earlier, but that was still being investigated.
Officials believed 171 people had been aboard the train’s three carriages, which were being removed from the scene Thursday.
The crane that fell, crushing part of the train, was a launching gantry crane, a mobile piece of equipment often used in building elevated roadways.
Police were still collecting evidence and interviewing witnesses and have not pressed charges, provincial Police Chief Narongsak Promta told reporters.
South Korea's Foreign Ministry reported a South Korean man in his late 30s, was among the dead.
The high-speed rail project where the accident occurred is associated with the plan to connect China with Southeast Asia under Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.
In August 2024, a railway tunnel on the planned route, also in Nakhon Ratchasima, collapsed, killing three workers.
Anan Phonimdaeng, acting governor of the State Railway of Thailand, said the project’s contractor is Italian-Thai Development, with a Chinese company responsible for design and construction supervision.
A statement posted on the website of the company, also known as Italthai, expressed condolences to the victims and said the company would pay compensation to the families of the dead and hospitalization expenses for the injured.
Transport Minister Phiphat said Italthai was also the lead contractor on the highway project where Thursday's accident took place, though several other companies are also involved.
The rail accident had already sparked outrage because Italthai was also the co-lead contractor for the State Audit Building in Bangkok that collapsed during construction last March during a major earthquake centered in Myanmar. The building's collapse was the worst quake damage in Thailand and about 100 people were killed.
Twenty-three individuals and companies have been indicted, including Italthai's president and the local director for the company China Railway No. 10, the project’s joint venture partner. The charges in the case include professional negligence and document forgery, and Thailand's Department of Special Investigation has recommended more indictments.
The involvement of Chinese companies in both projects has also drawn attention, as has Italthai and Chinese companies’ involvement in the construction of several expressway extensions in and around Bangkok where several accidents, some fatal, have occurred.
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Wednesday the government was aware of the rail accident and had expressed condolences.
Associated Press writers Wasamon Audjarint in Bangkok and Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report.
Relatives of victims and others wait at a hospital, a day after a construction crane fell into a passenger train in Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Relatives wait at a hospital to receive bodies of victims, a day after a construction crane fell into a passenger train in Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, Thursday, Jan.15, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Forensic workers inspect the site of a train accident, a day after a construction crane fell into a passenger train in Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
A cuddly toy lies on the ground at the site of a train accident, a day after a construction crane fell into a passenger train in Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
A construction crane that collapsed on the Rama 2 Road elevated expressway in Samut Sakhon province, Thailand on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Arnun Chonmahatrakool)
A construction crane that collapsed on the Rama 2 Road elevated expressway in Samut Sakhon province, Thailand on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Arnun Chonmahatrakool)
A construction crane that collapsed on the Rama 2 Road elevated expressway in Samut Sakhon province, Thailand on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Arnun Chonmahatrakool)
