Chiefs Win 26th-Straight Game in November-December in 26-10 Win Over Rams Sunday Afternoon
Breaking down all the angles following the Chiefs' 26-10 victory over the Rams on Sunday afternoon
The Kansas City Chiefs (9-2) beat the Los Angeles Rams (3-8) by a score of 26-10 Sunday afternoon at Arrowhead Stadium.
Patrick Mahomes had a “quiet” 320-yard passing performance, spreading it around as 10 different players caught a pass on the day - led by Travis Kelce’s 4-catch, 57-yard performance that included a beautiful touchdown reception, rookie running back Isiah Pacheco had a career-high 22 carries and the defense had three sacks and two interceptions.
All in all - several things that could have been “cleaner,” but the Chiefs walked away without any major injuries and now get ready for one of the marquee matchups of the season - facing the team that ended their season a year ago, the Cincinnati Bengals, next Sunday afternoon on the road.
Here are Kent, Craig, and Matty’s thoughts on Sunday’s win over the Rams:
The Chiefs’ victory on Sunday was a formality. There were very minimal scenarios in which the Rams were going to pull off a victory over the 15.5 point favorite home team.
Good on the Chiefs to stay focused and take care of business — and play with energy — against a team that was severely hobbled and not really that competitive. Especially considering the next opponent on the schedule. What could very easily have been a look ahead game for the Chiefs was not.
The Chiefs had their hearts ripped out by an inferior team at Arrowhead last year when the Cincinnati Bengals stunned them in the AFC Championship Game. It was more meltdown than comeback — the Bengals simply let the Chiefs implode all the way to the Super Bowl.
With few games against teams with .500 records remaining on the schedule, the upcoming game in Cincinnati serves as both one of the biggest obstacles remaining on the schedule and also an opportunity to exorcize the demons that ended the Chiefs’ season abruptly last year.
Best believe that the Bengals will get a hyper-focused version of the Chiefs come Sunday when Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow will duke it out for the third time. Cincinnati is one of the few teams that has something on Mahomes. That won’t sit well with the best player in football.
I expect a big performance from this team next week. They have extra motivation to prove that what happened in Arrowhead in January isn’t a reflection of the makeup of this team — and certainly not their quarterback.
17% - Red Zone TD rate by the Chiefs offense against the Rams
The Chiefs kept most of their offensive play calls close to the vest this week. They ran the ball 26 times, spread their passing game around to 10 different receivers, and stayed fairly generic as they were able to move the ball with ease until they got to the red zone. Nobody in the NFL has scored more touchdowns than the Chiefs in the red zone this season, and they ranked third in red zone efficiency coming into this week. Unfortunately that will take a hit as the Chiefs went 1-for-6 when they got themselves inside the 20, scoring just one touchdown on the legs of Isiah Pacheco.
While the team was trying not to get fully into Andy Reid’s bag of tricks in the red zone, they still struggled to execute vanilla play calls in a measurable way. This resulted in the Chiefs offense settling for four field goals – and a bad Mahomes interception – that kept this game closer than some Chiefs fans would have liked. It’s likely just an outlier against a top red zone defense in a game that the Chiefs were easily in control of throughout, but it still leaves a bit of a sour taste in the mouth of an easy victory.
2.45 - Yards per play allowed on first down by the Chiefs defense
The Chiefs defense has struggled to stay ahead of the sticks throughout the 2022 season. They have glimpses of strong play – especially in the second half of games lately – but on the whole they have given up too many yards on first and second downs in 2022. First down seems to be an especially difficult one to get right, as the Chiefs were allowing 5.73 yards per play coming into this matchup. It was against an offense reeling from injuries and poor play, but the Chiefs defense made them look even worse, allowing just 2.45 yards per play on first down and staying well ahead of the sticks all day.
The Chiefs defense forced a negative play or no gain on a whopping seven first downs against the Rams, putting an offense that was uncomfortable throwing the ball for much of the day in a script that was a lot more pass-heavy than desired. Multiple individual plays by Nick Bolton, Frank Clark, Chris Jones, and L’Jarius Sneed stuck out this week as the Chiefs defense held a bad offense to just 10 points on the day. With more struggling offenses on the way in the Chiefs’ remaining games, they just might claw themselves back toward the top ten in points allowed for the fourth straight year under Steve Spagnuolo.
10 - Winning seasons for Andy Reid in Kansas City
For a full decade’s worth of seasons, Andy Reid has guided the Chiefs to a positive end of the season record. Sunday’s victory over the Rams got him there yet again in year 10. There were some tough times in the years prior to Reid’s arrival, but those are just a distant memory – because all Andy Reid’s Chiefs know is winning football seasons.
Congrats, coach.
The Kansas City Chiefs were able to beat the Los Angeles Rams tonight in relatively comfortable fashion. At the risk of sounding like a spoiled fan, this was as boring of a Chiefs’ game that could have possibly unfolded. It was a show of complete dominance from either side of the football, yet both sides of the ball were controlling every second of the game. The Chiefs didn’t blow out the Rams but they won by 16 points when clearly running out non-top shelf stuff.
The game was simply under control from start to finish for the Chiefs and it was a rather odd viewing experience as a fan. Normally when the Chiefs’ get these types of games they have a boatload of mental errors that make the game closer than it should be but after an early run down that familiar road, they took over. The only time the game even got close to maybe becoming a close game was after the Patrick Mahomes interception in the red zone but then this immediately followed.
The Rams took over after the Mahomes interception with 8:40 seconds left in the fourth quarter down 10 points. It was their first possession after a 14 play Touchdown scoring drive and despite the Chiefs moving right down the field they didn’t put up any points. If there was ever a chance to pull off a complete momentum switch it was here but L’Jarius Sneed wasn’t having any of it.
On second down the Rams dialed up a hard play-action pass to catch the Chiefs off-guard. Sneed did a good job zoning off vertically and as Bryce Perkins flipped his head around off the run-action, he simply never saw Sneed. He tried to fit the ball into a Deep Comeback route and Sneed easily slid underneath it before climbing the ladder to secure the INT.
Snagging this INT and returning the ball deep into the red zone set the Chiefs up to score some points on this drive and it felt like the ultimate “nail in the coffin” type of play. The Chiefs were held to a Field Goal again on offense but this pushed the lead to 13 points and it simply felt like the Rams completely deflated after the turnover.
The Chiefs may not have brought their A-game on either side of the ball but L’Jarius Sneed brought his A+ game on this play at the very least.
You make a lifetime of difference for a child or teen.
Boys & Girls Clubs is looking for dedicated men and women to invest in the lives of youth through coaching. Did you know by participating in sports, children learn the value of teamwork, responsibility, good sportsmanship, and self-esteem? By becoming a volunteer coach, you are helping to power the dreams—and successful futures—of Kansas City’s kids! The Clubs are currently seeking baseball coaches. Click here to sign up today! All equipment will be provided. No prior coaching experience is needed.