KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs spent a good chunk of their week off working on short-yardage situations, which they had been relatively good at this season, given how mightily they struggled in converting those same situations last season.
That's why they were so frustrated with their otherwise sublime 22-6 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.
Had the Chiefs scored after facing first-and-goal at the Chargers 2, or when they had first-and-goal at the Chargers 6, or on the drive that ended when Mahomes was brought down shy of the first-down marker on third-and-2, or not missed a field goal after he threw an incomplete pass on third-and-1 — well, the winning margin would have been a whole lot more comfortable.
“Yeah, I think it’s just you’ve got to — whenever stuff’s not pretty — you’ve got to be able to just push it and get the first down. I think that’s the biggest thing, and it’s not always going to be pretty,” Mahomes said. “We have the short-yardage where we score a long touchdown, and then we have the short-yardage where we didn’t get there with the push and stuff like that, and so we’ll continue to work on it. I mean, guys take pride in that. They take pride in the entire run game.”
To be clear: The run game was pretty darn good again.
Kenneth Walker ran for 122 yards and two touchdowns, pushing his league-leading total to 665 yards through five games. On the first TD run, he slipped through a hole on third-and-1 and ran 33 yards to the end zone. On the other, Walker bounced off a tackle, picked up a block from Mahomes, and got into the end zone from 2 yards out to make it 16-3 in the second quarter.
But there also was room to be better. When faced with first-and-goal at the Chargers 8, the Chiefs gave the ball to Walker four times in a row, the last of them gaining nothing from the goal line and resulting in a turnover on downs.
“I feel like we're going to get better,” Walker said. “We have a lot of stuff we have to execute and get better and more detailed at.”
That's a sobering thought for the rest of the league, given Kansas City is one of the three remaining unbeaten teams.
There is also something of an urgency to the improvement. The Chiefs are heading into a tough, two-game road swing through Seattle and Denver, and they have back-to-back road games against the Bills and Rams a couple of weeks later.
“We spent time on the short-yardage (during the bye), and we didn’t do very good on it. So, we’ve got to figure that out,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. "You’re down in there for a couple more touchdowns, and in the goal-line situations, you’ve got to score on short yardage. You’ve got to pick the first down up. And then one of those, they got us. I mean, the play that we called — I called the play. So, I mean, the play I called wasn’t set up for that coverage, and we’ve got to do better there.”
What’s working
The Chiefs sacked the Chargers' Justin Herbert four times, their first four sacks since Week 1 against Denver.
What needs help
Special teams. Nikko Remigio fumbled away a punt return and nearly had another fumble, and Harrison Butker missed both a field goal try and an extra point. That continued what has been a season-long problem on special teams for Kansas City.
Stock up
Xavier Worthy stepped up with fellow wide receiver Rashee Rice inactive with a hamstring strain and Tyquan Thornton now on injured reserve. He had game highs of seven catches for 73 yards, most of them early, when Kansas City was building its lead.
Stock down
Defensive back Chris Roland-Wallace was ejected after throwing a punch, leaving the Chiefs' defensive backfield shorthanded.
Key injuries
RT Jaylon Moore sustained a concussion early in the game, forcing the Chiefs to mix up their offensive line. He was already starting with Josh Simmons still sidelined by a bulging disc in his back, leaving Josh Ezeudu to finish the game in his place.
Key number
100 — Mahomes picked up his 100th win, matching Tom Brady for the fewest starts to reach the mark in NFL history.
Up next
Walker returns to Seattle, where he was the Super Bowl MVP while winning a ring with the Seahawks last season, for a marquee Sunday night showdown. The Chiefs running back downplayed his return to The Emerald City, saying: “Right now, I’m just focused on critiquing the mistakes we made. Once we get to that point, we'll see."
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