No JuJu Smith-Schuster or Mecole Hardman for Chiefs? Worked out OK as others stepped up
The Chiefs piled up 485 total yards in Sunday night’s comeback road win over the L.A. Chargers at SoFi Stadium, their fourth straight game with more than 400 net yards.
Defensively, the Chiefs totaled five sacks, 10 quarterback hits, an interception and a fumble recovery.
“Good win for our football team against a good team,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid told reporters Monday. “It seems like every game comes down to the end with this group when we play them (the Chargers).
“A lot of good individual efforts, good team efforts on each side of the ball and special teams. It was heck of a football game.”
Important contributions from some usual sources — and some less typical ones, too — helped the Chiefs improve to 8-2. Kansas City now holds a three-game lead in the AFC West with seven games remaining in the regular season.
Here’s how the Chiefs’ snap counts worked out in Week 11:
QUARTERBACKS: Patrick Mahomes (65), Chad Henne (did not play)
Mahomes enjoyed another stellar outing, completing 20 of 34 passes for 329 yards and three touchdowns (120.8 passer rating). He added 23 yards rushing on four carries.
The Chiefs’ quarterback has passed for 300 yards 37 times since 2017, marking the most in the NFL in that span.
Making the milestone stand out even more? Mahomes didn’t become the Chiefs’ full-time starter until the 2018 season.
RUNNING BACKS: Jerick McKinnon (34, 8 on special teams), Isiah Pacheco (26, 6 on special teams), Clyde Edwards-Helaire (5), fullback Michael Burton (2, 15 on ST)
McKinnon led the position group in snaps, but Pacheco was the rushing star against the Chargers.
The Chiefs’ seventh-round pick started his fourth straight game and produced a career-high 107 yards rushing on 15 carries, averaging a healthy 7.1 yards per carry. Pacheco’s yardage also marked the first 100-yard rushing effort from a Chiefs running back this season.
Edwards-Helaire suffered a high-ankle sprain in the first half and didn’t finish the game.
As a team, the Chiefs produced 163 yards on 27 carries (6 yards per attempt).
WIDE RECEIVERS: Justin Watson (57), Marquez Valdes-Scantling (46), Skyy Moore (27, 2 on ST), Kadarius Toney (14, 1 on ST), Marcus Kemp (4, 17 on ST), Cornell Powell (1, 15 on ST)
The Chiefs entered the game without JuJu Smith-Schuster (concussion) and Mecole Hardman (abdomen/injured reserve), so the team relied on others to step up.
Watson paced the position group with 67 yards receiving on three catches, while Moore had a career-high game in catches (5) and yards receiving (63). Valdes-Scantling recorded a catch for 18 yards.
Toney, who was targeted once in the game, suffered a hamstring injury in the first half and didn’t finish the game.
Powell, the Chiefs’ fifth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, made his NFL debut and contributed snaps on special teams as a gunner.
TIGHT ENDS: Travis Kelce (51), Noah Gray (39, 16 on ST), Jody Fortson (18, 15 on ST)
Kelce had six receptions for 115 yards and three touchdowns in the game. His third touchdown came with less than a minute remaining in the game to cap off the Chiefs’ comeback win.
Sunday night marked the 33rd time in his career that Kelce topped 100 yards receiving in a game, which passes Rob Gronkowski (32) for the most 100-yard receiving games by a tight end in NFL history. Sunday night also marked the 45th time that Mahomes and Kelce connected for a touchdown since Mahomes became the starting quarterback in 2018.
Gray contributed two catches for 15 yards, while Fortson had two catches for 51 yards, which included a highlight-worthy 40-yard catch in tight coverage.
Gray and Fortson showed off their blocking by sealing the edge on Kelce’s 4-yard touchdown catch.
With a banged-up wide receiver corps, the Chiefs incorporated plenty of 12- (two tight ends, one running back) and 13-personnel (three tight ends, one running back) packages.
OFFENSIVE LINE: Trey Smith (65, 6 on ST), Joe Thuney (65), Creed Humphrey (65, 6 on ST), Orlando Brown Jr. (65, 6 on ST), Andrew Wylie (65, 6 on ST), Nick Allegretti (1, 6 on ST), Prince Tega Wanogho (6 on ST), Geron Christian (6 on ST)
The Chiefs’ front five enjoyed a second straight solid effort, and the proof is in the numbers: a 300-yard passer (Mahomes), a 100-yard receiver (Kelce) and a 100-yard rusher (Pacheco).
The offensive line also kept Mahomes clean, for the most part, allowing a single sack in the game.
DEFENSIVE LINE: Chris Jones (57), Frank Clark (52), George Karlaftis (36, 6 on ST), Mike Danna (31, 6 on ST),Carlos Dunlap (238), Khalen Saunders (31, 5 on ST), Derrick Nnadi (23, 6 on ST), Taylor Stallworth (9)
Jones took down Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert twice in the game, marking the fourth time this season that Jones has recorded a multi-sack outing. Jones, who added five tackles and four quarterback hits against the Chargers, now has a team-high nine sacks this season.
Danna also took down Herbert twice on Sunday night and totaled four tackles, including two for a loss, and two quarterback hits.
Clark made his return after serving a two-game suspension and recorded two tackles, a quarterback hit and a fumble recovery.
The Chiefs’ defensive line accounted for four of the five sacks and eight of the 10 quarterback hits in the game.
LINEBACKERS: Nick Bolton (65, 6 on ST), Willie Gay Jr. (53, 1 on ST), Leo Chenal (13, 17 on ST), Darius Harris (4, 8 on ST), Jack Cochrane (17 on ST)
Bolton lived up to his reputation as a tackling machine by totaling a team-high 14 takedowns. The second-year linebacker added a pass defense, a forced fumble and the game-sealing interception.
Gay produced 11 tackles, including two for a loss, a sack and a quarterback hit. Sunday marked a second straight game that Gay recorded a sack. Chenal contributed two assists and a quarterback hit.
Cochrane notched an assist on special teams.
DEFENSIVE BACKS: Justin Reid (65, 5 on ST), Trent McDuffie (62, 3 on ST), L’Jarius Sneed (61, 1 on ST), Joshua Williams (43, 14 on ST), Bryan Cook (37, 18 on ST), Juan Thornhill (33), Jaylen Watson (14, 7 on ST), Deon Bush (3, 21 on ST), Nazeeh Johnson (12 on ST)
Williams and McDuffie each totaled six tackles to lead the defensive backs. Sneed briefly left the game in the first half and was observed in the blue medical tent, but he returned and finished the game with five tackles, including one for a loss, and two passes defensed.
Thornhill totaled three tackles before leaving the game with a calf injury, which opened the door for Cook to see extended action. Cook finished with three tackles.
Reid contributed four tackles, while Watson chipped in with two tackles, including one for a loss.
Johnson contributed a tackle on special teams.
SPECIALISTS: Harrison Butker (13), Tommy Townsend (8), James Winchester (8)
Butker drilled three field goals, including a 52-yard effort, and converted all three extra-point attempts.
Townsend punted twice for 92 yards, averaging 46 yards per punt.
