Thanks, KC. We needed that.

The Chargers desperately needed a win.  So did the Chiefs.  On Thursday night, one team was looking to make a statement to their fans and to themselves that not all hope was lost.  At the end of the night, it was our boys in navy blue standing tall in a crucial nationally televised game.  San Diego 31 - Kansas City 13.  On this, the first day of November, I can be thankful that the San Diego Chargers are NOT the Kansas City Chiefs.

As bad as the Chargers have played over the past month, the Chiefs have been much, much worse.  It's not even close.  The quarterback situation is in complete disarray.  Dwayne Bowe wants to clean out his locker quicker than a high school senior after his final exam.  And the turnovers?  No team loves to give the ball away more than the Kansas City Chiefs.  Perhaps the most alarming stat...they have never led at any point during a game in regulation this season.  That is almost unfathomable.  Thankfully, the Chargers were able to keep the streak alive and never allowed the Chiefs to issue much of a challenge.

Regardless of who the opposition was, there were a lot of things to like about this game.  Offensively, this was the best the Chargers have looked since...well...the last time the Chargers played against the Chiefs in Week 4.  The run game looked fantastic as Ryan Mathews, Ronnie Brown, and Jackie Battle all had productive nights carrying the ball.  Philip Rivers put together a stellar night, completing 18 of 20 pass attempts, making him only the 6th NFL quarterback since 1960 to complete 90% of his passes with at least 20 attempts in a game.  Malcom Floyd and Antonio Gates each caught passes for touchdowns and Danario Alexander demonstrated that he just might be worthy of starting at the WR2 spot.  Seyi Ajirotutu, who was likely playing Madden '13 this past Sunday, came up with one reception on a 28 yard diving grab that made the highlight reels.  I have never seen Royal or Meachem put forth that kind of effort.

On the defensive side, the Chargers were a nightmare for Kansas City.  Matt Cassel had two turnovers which directly resulted in defensive touchdowns for San Diego...but both were hardly his fault.  Cassel was set up to fail by his offensive coordinator when the Chiefs decide to run play action in their own end zone.  Jarrett Johnson chased Cassel down from behind, stripped the football, and Shaun Phillips recovered to put the Chargers up by 17.  Later in the 4th quarter, a Cassel pass went off the fingertips of Dexter McCluster, resulting in a tipped ball that landed softly in the hands of Demorrio Williams, who returned the interception 59 yards for the easy score.  But perhaps the Bolt that had the most impressive evening was Donald Butler.  His nine solo tackles led all defensive players, with his most memorable one being the crushing hit that he landed on Jamaal Charles that knocked the Chiefs feature running back out of the game.

And now...the not-so-good things about this game.  They are going to sound quite familiar.

• Rivers only had two incomplete passes.  One was a pass that he wisely threw in the back of the end zone when the play broke down.  The very next snap, Rivers rolled to his right and, instead of throwing the ball away again, decided that he was going to thread the needle to Dante Rosario in the corner of the end zone, who was blanketed by Eric Berry.  Berry came down with the easy pick and another poor decision by Rivers took points off the board for the Chargers right before half.  The fans let him know it, too, raining down a shower of boos as Rivers jogged off the field and back to the locker room.   

• Jared Gaither looked extremely over-matched at times against Tamba Hali.  I noticed after a blatant holding call against Gaither, he appeared to be wincing in pain as he picked himself up off the field.  It seems highly unlikely that Gaither will ever be 100% at any point this season, and it wouldn't be a surprise at all if he eventually missed more time.

• Antoine Cason and Quentin Jammer still suck.  Dwayne Bowe caught 8 of 10 passes thrown his way and neither cornerback was able to break up a pass all night.  Good thing Cassel is a craptastic quarterback with mostly mediocre options through the air.

Overall, a win is a win...even if it is against a garbage team like Kansas City.  I guess we will have to wait until next week to find out of this was the confidence-builder that the Chargers needed to get back on the right path.  Norv and A.J. are safe for another week, and it really felt good to see the Chargers walk off the field with smiles on their faces instead of a complexion of disbelief.  The road to recovery gets much tougher with Tampa Bay on deck.  We know Vincent Jackson will be ready.