--RB Larry Johnson broke his silence with the media Sunday just long enough to mumble praise for Tony Gonzalez's catch of his first NFL completion, a 4-yard TD pass that capped Kansas City's first-series, 96-yard, eight-minute scoring drive. "It's a real honor throwing it to one of the best tight ends in history," Johnson said. "He made me look good."

--CB Pat Surtain, playing for the first time since Oct. 26, had his first interception of the year. He might have gone the distance but stepped out of bounds at the 3 after a 50-yard return as Philip Rivers moved to cut him off before the goal line.

--K Connor Barth was 9-for-9 coming into the San Diego game, but he missed both field-goal attempts of 34 and 50 yards, the final for the potential game-winning points with the wind to his back on the final snap of the game in a one-point loss. Barth has attempted only two kicks of 40-plus yards since joining the Chiefs at midseason.

--WR Will Franklin had the best day of his rookie season with three catches for 24 yards in the loss to San Diego. Franklin had more yardage on a single 42-yard catch against New Orleans.

REPORT CARD VS. CHARGERS

PASSING OFFENSE: B-minus -- Tyler Thigpen was reasonably effective in hitting 19 of 28 passes for 171 yards and a TD, but he also threw a forced red-zone pick that wiped out a first-and-goal scoring chance from the 7. Larry Johnson amassed a 122.9 passer rating by completing his only throw, a 4-yard TD to Tony Gonzalez.

RUSHING OFFENSE: C-minus -- Kansas City's 3.3-yard team average wouldn't have been that good had not Thigpen scrambled for 40 yards. He took his lumps on a couple of his 10 carries, including one where he was belted while running what looked like a college option pitch play. Larry Johnson was held to a 3.2-yard average while rushing for only 55 yards. He surprisingly got only four second-half carries, for 6 yards, even though the Chiefs held a 21-3 lead early in the third quarter.

PASS DEFENSE: F -- It wasn't just that the Chiefs broke down completely in the final 4:55 when Philip Rivers threw for 137 of his 346 yards and two touchdowns while leading TD drives of 89 and 57 yards. Rivers also hit 10 of 11 first-half passes. But the secondary breakdown on his 42-yard bomb to Vincent Jackson one play after San Diego recovered an onside kick was the killer play of the game, especially against a four-deep Chiefs defense designed specifically to eliminate deep throws.

RUSH DEFENSE: B-plus -- LaDainian Tomlinson may not be the threat he once was, but holding him to 39 rushing yards and a 2.6-yard average is solid work.

SPECIAL TEAMS: D -- Either one of Connor Barth's two missed kicks, but especially a missed 34-yarder on Kansas City's second possession, could have won the game. Coverage units struggled, as Darren Sproles averaged 28 yards on four kickoff returns with a long of 40. The kick return units were average, and P Dustin Colquitt struggled to average 36.4 yards gross and a better 35.6 net kicking a cold ball.

COACHING: D-plus -- The total collapse in the final 73 seconds nearly made the grade an "F," but coaches had the right people on the field for the onside kick that WR Dwayne Bowe couldn't control. And the four-deep pass protection was the right call even though San Diego completed a 42-yard pass to set up the game-winning touchdown immediately after the onside kick. Heck, coaches can't call plays and execute 'em. Edwards got booed by the few fans remaining in Arrowhead Stadium for punting twice in the fourth quarter, but those were the right decisions. Offensive coordinator Chan Gailey had a solid ball-control game plan that included a halfback pass for a touchdown, some quarterback draws and a hook-and-ladder call.