Derwin James knew Travis Kelce's route on the INT that ended the Chiefs

The Los Angeles Chargers put away the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, securing a gritty win on the road in an AFC West battle.

It was star safety Derwin James who officially ended the game late by trailing Travis Kelce in coverage and picking off a pass from Gardner Minshew.

Minshew had been in the game because Patrick Mahomes had limped off to the locker room with what eventually turned out to be a torn ACL.

From the sounds of it, though, James might have picked off the pass even if Mahomes had been back there slinging it in the cold.

James, after all, said after the win that he knew the route and how to jump it.

"I knew they didn't have any timeouts, good call by coach," James said, according to Omar Navarro of Chargers.com. . "Once I seen the 2-by-2 route, I knew what route it was and made a play on the ball."

Love always @BaldyNFL 💪🏾 https://t.co/m6wcNhdxQR
— Derwin James Jr (@DerwinJames) December 15, 2025

Earlier this week, a funny exchange basically saw James admit that he didn’t really think about Sunday’s game perhaps being his final chance to line up against Kelce twice per season.

After making the big play, James certainly remembered.

"It was very poetic because all know Kelce is a first ballot Hall of Famer, one of the best tight ends ever, if not the best," James said. "A lot of respect for him, we've had a lot great battles over the years. It's been a lot of fun."

It should come as no great shock to hear that James wound up leading the Chargers in tackles on the day with 10 total. He had two passes defended and was one of two Chargers with an interception (the other was linebacker Daiyan Henley).

"A lot of respect..."
"It's a feeling I've never had before..."@chargers teammates Derwin James Jr. & Daiyan Henley react to knocking the Chiefs out of the playoffs (@Melanie_Collins) pic.twitter.com/Kd6HP34kdi
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) December 14, 2025

James, as expected, continues to do everything in Jesse Minter’s defense for the Chargers. The way he tandems with names like Elijah Molden, Tony Jefferson and others is also why the team felt comfortable trading Alohi Gilman to the Baltimore Ravens earlier this year.

Now 29, James has one year left on his current deal into 2026. Some would think, though, that this continued successful run might have the two parties linking up to talk about a possible extension over the offseason.

First things first, though, James wants to help key the Chargers to a perfect record in the AFC West before a playoff berth.

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