Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs add more stats to the record book as Kansas City beats the Chargers 30-27.
Here are my post game takeaways.
This past week, the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Los Angeles Chargers 30-27 on SNF.
This game required some of Kansas City’s younger guys to step up due to injuries across the board. The Chiefs came into the game without Mecole Hardman and JuJu Smith-Schuster and lost Kadarius Toney early on.
The Chiefs and Mahomes have continued to be undefeated in November and December, with a record of 25-0. Mahomes has still not lost a divisional road game.
The offense’s production came from a variety of players. The largest impact in the receiving game came from old reliable Travis Kelce.
His production is comparable to the top wide receivers in the league. He is leading the league in receiving touchdowns, is seventh in receiving yards, fifth in receptions and leading the league in broken tackles. Kelce continues to be not just the best tight end in the league but a top overall receiver.
Isiah Pacheco was one of the top producing players on the Chiefs against the Chargers. For the second week in a row Pacheco was given the rock 15 or more times. For the first time in his career, he broke the 100 yard mark. This is the first time this year the Chiefs have had a running back the 100 yard mark.
Pacheco’s production came from consistently strong runs. His longest play was a 28 yard rush. He continued to grind out yards to move the sticks. He averaged over seven yards a carry. While the Chiefs don’t need a 100 yard running back each week, this level of production makes the Chiefs offense much more dangerous.
Another rookie that stepped up was Skyy Moore. Moore was able to make great plays in key situations. His biggest play came on a third down when he made a catch in the middle of the field. In traffic, Moore was able to get on the ground and cradle a ball to move the chains.
While the box score will not show the severity of his impact on the game, Moore’s production and play led to him having the best game of his career.
The defense also had multiple guys step up. Nick Bolton continues to show his skill, athleticism and pure instincts from the middle linebacker position. Not only did he have the game sealing interception. He also led the team in tackles, was able to seal the edge in the run game and played a technically sound game for all four quarters.
The defensive line also showed up. Chris Jones continues to prove why he is the best defensive tackle in the game. He had two sacks despite the fact that all game he was fighting double or even triple teams.
Mike Danna benefited from the attention Jones was getting from the Chargers. Danna ended the game with two sacks and was able to put pressure on Justin Herbert throughout the game.
An underrated part of the defense was the corners and safeties ability to make open field tackles. After the first Chargers touchdown, which took only three plays, the defense truly made them work for every yard. The Chiefs did not give up yards after contact in the passing game. The corners and safeties were able to get a majority of their tackles by themselves, playing fast and physical. They did not depend on the rest of the team to help clean up missed plays.
Overall, it was a very fun game to watch. The team played great and looked unstoppable.
Next week the Chiefs will take on the Rams at 3:25c at Arrowhead Stadium.
