KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The game was over, the season was over and Philip Rivers’ final pass of 2019 had, fittingly, been intercepted.



Rivers made his way over to the sideline and put his helmet down on the Chargers’ bench. On the field, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs set up in victory formation with 59 seconds left on the clock. He kneeled once, and as the time ticked away, Mahomes waved his arms to pump up the sold-out crowd at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs had clinched the No. 2 seed in the AFC with a 31-21 victory and a New England Patriots loss. The Chargers headed into an offseason shrouded in uncertainty following a cripplingly discouraging 5-11 finish.



Mahomes knelt a second time with 29 seconds remaining. That would be the last play of the game. But Rivers wasn’t watching. He was talking to a Chiefs fan who was in the stands behind the Chargers bench. At first, it looked like Rivers was jawing with the fan. He’s a fiery...