Nick Canepa’s report card: See which Chargers made the grade in Sunday’s win over Chiefs

Nick Canepa grades the Chargers following Sunday’s 16-13 win over the Chiefs in Kansas City:

Quarterbacks: A

Justin Herbert, in the cold, threw his first pick when his arm was hit against an eight-man front. It led to a field goal and a 10-3 K.C. lead. His protection was awful, as though he’s playing by himself. He threw a wonderful touchdown pass to KeAndre Lambert-Smith just before halftime and tough-guyed them until the end.

Running backs: B-

Rookie Omarion Hampton and upstart Kamani Vidal obviously are a tandem now. Vidal ran with his usual gusto and Hampton had a 25-yard run and warmed up.

Receivers: C+

Quentin Johnston came up with a groin injury in Friday’s practice and spent the day in the nurse’s office. This is a good group that couldn’t separate from the Eagles. Rook Tre Harris had a great 35-yard catch prior to the break, but later had a bad drop. Ladd McConkey caught his first pass with 11 seconds left before intermission. Then Lambert-Smith followed. Keenan Allen had a nice day. Rookie tight end Oronde Gadsden had an enormous catch.

Offensive line: C

Run blocking was much better than pass blocking. With the tackle position worn to the nub, No. 2 right tackle Trey Pipkins was out with an ankle injury. Jamaree Salyer had a bad hold.

Defensive line: A

K.C.’s O-line probably was in worse shape, but nobody told Patrick Mahomes on his 12-yard TD run. Da’Shawn Hand is a tough block in the middle. But the Chiefs scored one TD.

Linebackers: A

Tuli Tuipulotu made the first tackle of the day and, shortly after, his 11th sack of the season. A quarter later, he got another, then shared a tackle-for-loss with Derwin James. Denzel Perryman continues to tackle every player he’s met. Oadfe Oweh had an enormous sack, then another. Daiyan Henley had a great goal-line pick.

Secondary: A

Starting safety Elijah Molden sat with a hamstring injury. His backup, RJ Mickens, went down in the second quarter. James got himself a personal foul on the game’s second play, which turned out to be huge, prolonging a TD drive. But he made up for everything with his last-minute pick. Cam Hart, who is really good, got away with what would have been a large PI call. Tarheeb Still got beat deep before the half. Tony Jefferson had a Godzilla hit, later a bad helmet-to-helmet that somehow got him ejected.

Special teams: B-

Return man Derius Davis, who hasn’t done much, missed this class with an ankle. Cameron Dicker The Kicker opened scoring with a 49-yard field goal, then had a 23-yarder to tie it at 13, then another 49-yarder to put his team up by 3.

Coaching: A

Jim Harbaugh wins another improbable one. Ten games? Play-calling near the goal line at the beginning of the second half stunk against an injured Chiefs team.

Next opportunity — at Dallas: C

This is not a prime-time game, which has to be unusual for the Cowboys, who are network darlings no matter how good or bad they are. Their defense isn’t good, but the visiting team’s offense isn’t good, either. The Cowboys are much better at home.