Mahomes, who once more had a game he’d like to revise, overshot an open Travis Kelce, the pass intercepted by cornerback Kristian Fulton. (Kelce had his best day this year, with 7 catches for 89 yards.)

How the Chiefs bristled their way back after the bizarre and deflating play on which Rice suffered what figures to be a long-term knee injury, a play that soon left them down 10-0, was fresh testimony to what we should now accept as fact … Both for its reassuring upside and unsettling downside.

So, for all the postgame praise Jim Harbaugh heaped upon his shorthanded team, there was one unavoidable reality the Chargers faced and that was that the Kansas City Chiefs were the better, healthier and more efficient team during a 17-10 come-from-behind victory.