EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Few would mistake the Los Angeles Chargers for an offensive juggernaut this season, so their 34-17 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday represented a significant step forward.
Whether it marks a point of demarcation where the Chargers (11-4) can propel themselves into meaningful Super Bowl contention or just a good day against a sub.-500 opponent should become clear over the next two weeks.
For now, the Chargers were simply happy to consistently move the football and score touchdowns as they put together their most yards (452) and second-most points of the season.
“I think the really cool thing about this team is we’ve kind of taken it week by week, and we’re never looking too far ahead, and we’re never looking too far back,” quarterback Justin Herbert said. “And we’re able to pick each other up. And the past couple of weeks, I think the defense has done such a great job of just helping us out. And today we were able to kind of help out a little bit.”
Herbert had his best game by far since breaking a bone in his non-throwing hand on Nov. 30, going 23 of 29 for 300 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 42 yards and a touchdown on eight carries. Most importantly, Herbert was not sacked for the first time this season.
Herbert had been sacked 11 times in his past two games against the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs and taken numerous more hits, finding just enough ways to come up with three-point victories against last season’s Super Bowl participants. With a clean pocket against the Cowboys, he was able to maximize the array of pass catchers at his disposal.
“I think those guys did a great job today,” Herbert said of the offensive line. “We got the ball out quick, had a great protection plan, and really were on our stuff this week. So it’s a shout-out to the front five for just communicating, talking, and blocking as well as they did. Giving me time to get the ball off for sure.”
The assignment gets much harder in the last two weeks of the regular season. The Houston Texans have an effective pass rush featuring Will Anderson Jr. and his 11 1/2 sacks, and the Denver Broncos lead the league in sacks, with 13 more than second-place Atlanta.
If the Chargers can carry over the improvement in pass protection on display in Dallas into the playoffs, they can be a factor in the jumbled AFC.
Not only were they effective in pass blocking, the Chargers’ offensive line also paved the way for 152 yards rushing despite losing left tackle Jamaree Salyer to a hamstring injury. The balance between run and pass let coordinator Greg Roman carefully manage the game, especially on third down as the Chargers converted 7 of 11 attempts.
The typically potent defensive front had a hard time getting home against Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. Outside linebacker Tuli Tuipulotu did get his 13th sack of the season, but that was the Chargers’ only one of the game.
Quentin Johnston had a season-high 104 yards receiving on four catches with a touchdown. Johnston had cooled off after a strong start, but the wide receiver's ability to stretch the field outside the numbers led to plays of 23, 50 and 25 yards and gave the pass game an extra dimension.
Cornerback Cam Hart struggled in a difficult matchup against Cowboys receiver George Pickens, giving up three receptions for 88 yards as the primary defender. Hart conceded a 28-yard catch on fourth down on Dallas’ opening possession and a 38-yard touchdown when tasked with playing man coverage on Pickens.
In addition to seeing Salyer leave early, the Chargers also lost corners Donte Jackson (groin) and Benjamin St-Juste (shoulder) and running back Kimani Vidal (neck).
2,264 — Herbert now holds the NFL record for most completions before turning 28, passing Matthew Stafford (2,246).
The Chargers host the Texans on Saturday, another team with an outstanding defense and inconsistent offense. If they can take care of business in their home finale, Los Angeles will be playing for the AFC West title against Denver in Week 18.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Quentin Johnston (1) makes a touchdown catch past Dallas Cowboys cornerback Shavon Revel during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) throws a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) celebrates his touchdown with center Bradley Bozeman (75) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The state of Missouri is losing its third NFL franchise and the second in the past decade, and the decision by the Chiefs on Monday to depart their longtime home at Arrowhead Stadium for a new domed facility in Kansas may hurt the most.
The Chiefs announced their intention to move after Kansas lawmakers approved a bond package earlier in the day to help pay for the new facility. It will be built near Kansas Speedway and a retail district known as The Legends in Kansas City, Kansas — only about 30 miles from Arrowhead Stadium, but a distance that has perhaps never felt so far.
“Years ago as a kid, my family was homeless for a while and we lived in a motel not too far from the stadium," said Quinton Lucas, the mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, shortly after the team’s announcement. "I knew we struggled, but I believed nothing was cooler than living within a stones' throw of what I thought then and today is the greatest stadium in football.
“Like a lot of parents in Chiefs Kingdom, my single mother scraped some money together to get me to Arrowhead for my first game — 300-level upper deck for a 30-7 preseason loss to the Buffalo Bills in 1993. I’ve been hooked ever since.”
Missouri lawmakers had been desperately trying to keep the Chiefs with their own funding package. They held a special legislative session in June backed by Gov. Mike Kehoe that authorized bonds covering up to 50% of the cost of new or renovated stadiums, plus up to $50 million of tax credits for each stadium and unspecified aid from local governments.
Lucas also had been working with local lawmakers in recent days on a counterproposal to keep the Chiefs in Missouri.
“We understand our very fair but very responsible financial offer of taxpayer support was surpassed by an even more robust public financing package in Kansas,” he said. “The Chiefs have a business to run and today made a business decision. We wish them well.”
The previous two NFL teams to leave Missouri were in St. Louis. The Cardinals, who came from Chicago in 1960, left for the Phoenix area in 1988 and now play in a state-of-the-art stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The Rams arrived from Anaheim, California, in 1995, then headed to Los Angeles in part because of their inability to secure funding to replace The Dome at America's Center.
The Rams recently built SoFi Stadium in the suburb of Inglewood, California, at a cost of more than $5 billion.
Other professional sports franchises to jilt Missouri include the Athletics of Major League Baseball, who left Kansas City for Oakland, California, following the 1967 season; the Kings of the National Basketball Association, who moved to Sacramento, California, in 1985; and the Kansas City Scouts of the National Hockey League, who eventually became the Colorado Rockies.
Sporting Kansas City, a club in Major League Soccer, once called Arrowhead Stadium home. It now plays its games on the Kansas side of the state line at Children's Mercy Park, close to where the Chiefs are expected to build their new stadium.
“I feel like Kansas won the Super Bowl,” said Ty Masterson, the president of the Kansas Senate.
The Chiefs and Kansas City Royals have played for more than five decades at the Truman Sports Complex, where Arrowhead and Kauffman stadiums sit a couple hundred yards apart. Both are revered, the NFL stadium for its tailgating experience and loud home-field advantage, and the Major League Baseball stadium for its picturesque backdrop of glittering outfield fountains.
Both teams have had plenty of recent success there, too.
The Chiefs, who at 6-9 have been eliminated from playoff contention this season, had appeared in the past three Super Bowls and the previous seven conference title games. They have some of the biggest stars in the game, including quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who has led the Chiefs to three Super Bowl titles in five trips to the big game.
The Royals, who won their second World Series in 2015, returned to the playoffs following the 2024 season. They are led by Bobby Witt Jr., one of the bright young stars of the game, and are coming off a second consecutive winning season.
One of the prevailing questions now is whether the Royals will follow the Chiefs across the Kansas-Missouri line.
The Royals insist they will not play at Kauffman Stadium beyond the 2031 season, and their preference has been to build a new downtown ballpark. But a sales tax extension that would have paid for an $800 million renovation of Arrowhead Stadium and a new home for the Royals was soundly defeated last year by voters in Jackson County, Missouri, leaving both to look elsewhere.
Through an affiliate, the Royals have purchased the mortgage for a tract of land in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, Kansas.
The announcement of the Chiefs' moving to Kansas generated widespread reaction among fans. Some were concerned about the price of tickets in a new facility, others about traffic flow and construction, and still others about the legacy of Arrowhead Stadium.
“I don’t think it is the greatest idea,” said Dustin Allen, who lives in Blue Springs, Missouri, and was visiting Union Station in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, on Monday. “I think that where they have it is a very nice spot. I will say that the traffic over there is always fun. I think it’s nice to have them downtown in some way, shape or form.”
Mike Robinson, a season ticket-holder from Kansas City, Kansas, was visiting a science museum inside the train station with his son.
“I’m pretty sure prices will go up,” he said. “That’s what I’m concerned about. A brand new stadium. Season ticket holders may not be able to keep up with their tickets with the rising prices.”
Analaysia Miller, a Chiefs fan from Kansas City, Kansas, didn’t have a strong opinion about the move since the team isn't leaving entirely. The new stadium will be about 35 miles (56 kilometers) west of the old one.
“It is just whatever they want to do,” she said as she visited Union Station with her three children. “As long as they are still in our city, representing for our city. That’s all that matters to me.”
Associated Press writers John Hanna, David Lieb and Heather Hollingsworth contributed.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover, confers with members of the Legislature's staff before a meeting of legislative leaders to review a proposal for issuing bonds to help the Kansas City Chiefs build a new stadium on the Kansas side of the Kansas City metropolitan area, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. (AP Photo/John Hanna)
Kansas City Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt watches the start of a meeting of legislative leaders who had the power to decide whether the state issues bonds to help the Chiefs finance a new stadium on the Kansas side of the Kansas City metropolitan area, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. (AP Photo/John Hanna)
