The 2025 NFL season kicked off on Thursday night with a classic intradivision rivalry game between the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles. It’s fair to say the NFL Kickoff Game was an interesting one. One night later, the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs put on a defensive battle in Brazil.
Let’s dive into the winners and losers from Friday night’s Chiefs vs Chargers game in Brazil, with Los Angeles pulling off the 27-21 upset over Kansas City.
Winner: Daiyan Henley’s Builds Off Breakout Year
NFL: Los Angeles Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs
Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images
A former wide receiver at Nevada, Daiyan Henley transitioned to linebacker and became a First-Team All-Pac 12 selection in 2022 with Washington State. He was selected by the Chargers with the 85th overall pick, playing only 53 defensive snaps in his rookie season. The arrival of Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter provided Henley with a new opportunity and he seized on it, recording 84 solo tackles, 8 pass deflections and 7 tackles for loss in 2024. On Friday night, we saw a linebacker who is ready to take his game to another level.
Daiyan Henley stats: 3 solo tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss, 1 QB hit
Related: NFL Defense Rankings 2025, see where Chiefs and Chargers land
The big play came on 3rd-and-goal when Henley chased down a scrambling Patrick Mahomes, didn’t get fooled by an evasive move and then wrapped him up for a critical sack. He also made a tackle in the backfield for a loss and was flying around the football all night. Henley might be the Chargers’ best defender this season and, at the very least, he could challenge for a Pro Bowl selection.
Loser: Chiefs’ Passing Game without Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy
Kansas City Chiefs
Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Kansas City came into Week 1 understanding that an efficient offense that consistently moved the chains would be difficult to have since Rashee Rice is suspended. Unfortunately, the ability of this Chiefs’ offense to deliver explosive plays took a big hit early with the Xavier Worthy injury. The 2025 first-round pick was taken out on a collision with teammate Travis Kelce. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for Kansas City to rule Worthy out with the shoulder injury. Rice won’t be back until Week 7 and Worthy could miss time. If both are out, Kansas City will once again be relying on Mahomes to do the heavy lifting for a bad receiving corps.
Related: Game-by-Game Kansas City Chiefs Predictions 2025
Winner: Quentin Johnston Delivers a Career Night
NFL: Kansas City Chiefs at Los Angeles Chargers
Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
A first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, wide receiver Quentin Johnston had a rough rookie season. As with many players in the Chargers’ locker room, a new regime provided a fresh start. He rewarded Los Angeles for giving him more of a shot in 2024, recording 711 receiving yards with 8 touchdowns. Carrying over that momentum in 2025, Johnston delivered the first touchdown of the game for Los Angeles. He also recorded 70-plus receiving yards in a game for just the fourth time in his career. Johnston might not be a prototypical WR2, but on a night when Kansas City contained Ladd McConkey, he stepped up for Justin Herbert.
Quentin Johnston stats: 5 receptions, 79 yards, 2 touchdowns on 7 targets
Related: Game-by-Game Los Angeles Chargers Predictions 2025
Loser: Josh Simmons Making Rookie Mistakes
NFL: Kansas City Chiefs at Arizona Cardinals
Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Josh Simmons might’ve been the first offensive tackle selected in the 2025 NFL Draft if not for the torn patellar tendon he suffered. Kansas City benefited from it, landing the standout left tackle with the 32nd overall pick. He earned the starting job ahead of Week 1, but the Chiefs’ coaching staff knew there would be growing pains. A few showed up early. Simmons was flagged twice for a false start in the first half, which isn’t too surprising from a player who drew 17 penalties in his first year as a starter in college (Mike Renner).
Read More: NFL Power Rankings 2025, evaluating all 32 teams before Week 1
Winner: Patrick Mahomes’ Dual-Threat Ability Proves Crucial
Kansas City Chiefs vs Los Angeles Chargers
Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Kansas City doesn’t have a chance in this game if not for Mahomes’ legs. Coming into tonight, the Chiefs’ quarterback had only rushed for 50-plus yards and a touchdown once (Nov. 6, 2022) in the last three seasons. On Friday night, he led the team in rushing yards and rushing first downs. Once Los Angeles really had to start respecting Mahomes’ willingness to scramble for a big gain, that’s when the passing game opened up a bit more. We still have some concerns about Kansas City’s passing game without Rice and Worthy, but Mahomes once again showed that he’s capable of overcoming it. Mahomes’ legs kept the Chiefs’ offense alive tonight.
Patrick Mahomes stats: 24-of-39, 258 passing yards, 1-0 TD-INT, 57 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown
Loser: Kansas City Chiefs’ Secondary
Kansas City Chiefs vs Los Angeles Chargers
Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
No one would mistake the Chargers’ receiving corps for being a top-10 unit in the NFL. You might have believed it was, however, after watching Friday night’s game. Ladd McConkey, Quentin Johnston and Keenan Allen all either scored a touchdown or eclipsed 70 receiving yards versus Kansas City. The Chiefs’ secondary seemed to always be leaving someone open. Maybe Kansas City could mask this if it had a great pass rush, but that’s not the case either. The Chiefs’ defense has carried this team in the regular season for the past year-plus, but that time seems to be over.
Winner: Justin Herbert Delivers an MVP-Caliber Performance
NFL: Kansas City Chiefs at Los Angeles Chargers
Credit: Amanda Perobelli/Reuters via Imagn Images
Plenty of NFL fans have questioned why analysts remain so high on Justin Herbert despite his playoff track record (0-2 record, 2-4 TD-INT and 60.7 QB rating). Performances like that show a glimpse of why. The physical talent is right up there with the best quarterbacks in the NFL, but Herbert hasn’t always had the supporting cast to help him reach that consistent top-shelf play for an entire year. With that said, Herbert’s peaks are incredible. On Friday night, even without Pro Bowl left tackle Rashawn Slater, Herbert delivered an MVP-caliber performance. Fittingly, he capped it off with a game-sealing 19-yard run.
Justin Herbert stats (ESPN): 25-of-34, 318 passing yards, 3-0 TD-INT, 131.7 QB rating, 32 rushing yards
Related: NFL Award Predictions 2025
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NFL, MLB & college football writer for Sportsnaut. Graduated from San Diego State University with BA in Journalism, 2019. ... More about Matt Johnson