KANSAS CITY, Mo. — KSHB 41 reporter Tod Palmer covers sports business and eastern Jackson County, including Independence. Share your story idea with Tod.
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The Chiefs came storming out of the bye week with a 22-6 drubbing of the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.
On a perfect afternoon for football, Kansas City (5-0) stayed perfect with a dominant defensive performance against the winless and reeling Chargers (0-6).
Los Angeles failed to score a touchdown and totaled only 259 yards in the loss.
Kenneth Walker III topped 100 yards for the fourth time in five games since signing with the Chiefs after winning Super Bowl MVP last season with Seattle.
He finished with 19 carries for 128 yards and two touchdowns, while Patrick Mahomes finished 23 of 30 for 272 yards with no touchdowns and an interception.
But the defense never gave the Chargers a toehold, holding Justin Herbert and company to 5-of-16 on third down and 0-of-3 on fourth down.
Herbert, who had five carries for 26 yards, was LA’s leading rusher.
Nick Bolton makes Chiefs history
It wasn’t a remarkable play by Nick Bolton’s standards.
He diagnosed a Chargers run, instinctively filled a gap and dropped Kimani Vidal for no gain.
Bolton’s done that hundreds of times in his NFL career and long before that, too.
But it was significant for the place it cemented for Bolton in Chiefs history.
It was his 10th tackle Sunday — giving him 26 career games with double-digit tackles, a new franchise record.
Bolton entered the game tied with Derrick Johnson, who was inducted into the Chiefs’ Ring of Honor last month, with 25 career games with 10-plus sacks.
Now, he stands alone in Kansas City history.
Bolton — a sixth-year middle linebacker from Frisco, Texas, via Mizzou — joined the Chiefs as a second-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. He’s appeared in 78 games, including 74 starts, since.
Sack drought ends
It took a while for the Chiefs’ pass rush to get ramped up, but the dam finally burst for a defensive line that went 14 quarters without a sack when halftime arrived.
Kansas City sacked Denver’s Bo Nix three times in the season opener, but went 3 1/2 games — wins against Indianapolis, then at Miami and Las Vegas plus the first half against the Chargers — without another until racking up four second-half sacks of Justin Herbert.
Chris Jones and fellow defensive tackle Peter Woods, a rookie first-round pick from Clemson, started the sack party by splitting a 0-yard sack late in the third quarter.
Defensive end Ashton Gillotte, safety Chamarri Conner and defensive end George Karlaftis also took down Herbert, who finished 22 of 37 for 204 yards with no touchdowns and an interception.
Chiefs dominate opening half
Despite two 10-yard penalties, the Chiefs cashed in on the game’s opening drive with a 44-yard field goal.
After Los Angeles went three-and-out, Walker punished the Chargers with a 33-yard touchdown run, breaking free on a third-and-1 carry up the middle and weaving through the secondary as he outran the defense for his fifth rushing touchdown of the season.
Harrison Butker missed the extra point, leaving Kansas City’s lead at 9-0.
The Chargers answered with a short field goal before the defense finally got a stop, but the momentum was short-lived.
Jack Cochrane ended a penalty- and mistake-filled Los Angeles drive with an interception, the second of his career, which he returned 48 yards to the 17-yard line, but Mahomes returned the favor.
Mahomes bailed from the pocket on third-and-goal from the 2 and lobbed a pass for Andrew Armstrong, a practice-squad elevation, in the back of the end zone. Cornerback Cam Hart drifted back and picked off the throw, continuing a trend of throwing an interception every other game.
It didn’t matter much in the end.
Los Angeles couldn’t mount a drive and gave the ball back to Kansas City with 5 1/2 minutes left in the first half.
Mahomes had a 10-yard run on a speed option keeper, picked up a bad snap and connected with Travis Kelce for a 16-yard gain, then hit Kelce again for a 24-yard catch-and-run two plays later.
Walker capped the drive by bouncing a run designed to go to the right back to the right off tackle for a 16-3 lead with 1:49 until halftime.
After a quick Chargers three-and-out, the Chiefs went 38 yards on three plays, including a 14-yard screen to running back Emmett Johnson and a 19-yard completion to Xavier Worthy, to set up a 50-yard Butker field goal for a 19-3 halftime lead.
Kansas City, which had outgained Los Angeles 268-103 at halftime, scored on four of six first-half possessions. It could have been five were it not for Mahomes’ red-zone interception.
Walker had 10 carries for 75 yards and two touchdowns at the break, while Worthy had five catches for 70 yards
Worthy of more targets
Without Tyquan Thornton and Rashee Rice, the Chiefs targeted Xavier Worthy early and often.
He responded with seven catches for 73 yards.
Worthy, a third-year receiver who Kansas City took in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, has only one career game with more receptions and two with more yards.
More career milestones
Cyrus Allen and Andrew Armstrong, who made his NFL debut after being elevated from the practice squad, registered their first career receptions in the second quarter.
Allen hauled in a 4-yard pass on the first play of the period, while Armstrong snagged a 13-yard catch on the final play before the two-minute warning, which came with the Chiefs’ offense at the 8-yard line.
It’s significant because Kansas City’s receiver room has been depleted by injury.
The Chiefs need young and inexperienced players to emerge as productive NFL regulars to keep the momentum rolling.
Injury report
Starting right tackle Jaylon Moore left the game late in the second quarter and didn’t return. He was replaced by fifth-year offensive lineman Josh Ezedu, whom the Chiefs acquired via trade with the New York Giants during training camp.
Cornerback Nohl Williams appeared to injure his right shoulder after tackling Chargers running back Omarion Hampton on the first snap for the defense.
He was treated by Kansas City’s medical staff on the field and walked off on his own power.
Williams, who remained on the sideline for the remainder of the drive and didn’t start the next drive, entered the game as Los Angeles reached the red zone on its second possession.
Los Angeles wide receiver Ladd McConkey left the game early in the second quarter, and cornerback Deane Leonard left in the third quarter; both were in concussion protocol.
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