Winners and Losers from the KC Chiefs' Week 7 Victory Over the SF 49ers

In the Kansas City Chiefs' Week 7 win over the San Francisco 49ers, multiple players stood out for good and bad reasons alike.

Oct 7, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs tight end Noah Gray (83) runs with the ball during the second half against the New Orleans Saints at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images / Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Fresh off the bye week, the Kansas City Chiefs got back to their winning ways in Week 7.

For the second game in a row, Andy Reid's team secured a double-digit win over its opponent and sent a statement in the process. Despite missing multiple pieces on offense (and seeing another one go down in-game), Kansas City won its regular-season rematch of Super Bowl LVIII against the San Francisco 49ers. There's plenty to learn from, sure, but the reigning champs looked good against a quality opponent on Sunday afternoon.

With that in mind, let's point out some of the Chiefs' biggest winners and losers from the seventh week of the regular season.

WINNER: Noah Gray

With Travis Kelce having a quiet game and JuJu Smith-Schuster's hamstring acting up, the Chiefs needed someone to step up in the passing game. On Sunday, that player was tight end Noah Gray. The fourth-year man had the best game of his career in Week 7, tying his personal best mark with four receptions but notching a new high with 66 receiving yards. Since inking a contract extension with the team, Gray is proving to be worth it by increasing his per-game figures and overall production in 2024.

Per @pfref, #Chiefs TE Noah Gray has the highest success rate (80%) of *all* qualified pass catchers this season.

Gray is also third in catch percentage and sixth in yards per target.

Well worth his contract extension so far. pic.twitter.com/4oUnLCVAnK

— Jordan Foote (@footenoted) October 21, 2024

LOSER: Nazeeh Johnson

Cornerback Jaylen Watson went down with an ankle injury on Sunday, leaving the door wide open for someone else to answer the call (more on that later). It certainly wasn't Nazeeh Johnson, even with the third-year corner getting opportunities. Johnson struggled in coverage against the 49ers, most notably getting beat deep down the field by Jacob Cowing in the fourth quarter. It's been a rough start to the season for Johnson in his first handful of games back from a torn ACL. He'll need to improve quickly in order to justify getting semi-consistent playing time.

WINNER: Mecole Hardman

Due to so many wide receiver injuries, Mecole Hardman's role on this year's Chiefs team has become greater than most originally expected. In his last game against the New Orleans Saints, he had his first catch of the season and then added three more. On Sunday, he scored his first touchdown. Hardman touched the ball three times on offense, breaking off a chunk play on all of them. It's worth questioning whether some of those manufactured yards are better served going to rookie Xavier Worthy, but you can't knock Hardman for making the most of the chances he got.

LOSER: Joshua Williams

In a similar vein as Johnson, Joshua Williams simply didn't play like someone who deserved an increased role in Week 7. The former fourth-round pick came into the season getting tons of praise as a potential breakout candidate, yet Watson won the second starting cornerback job and ran away with it. Williams was poor in coverage on Sunday and also committed a facemask penalty on a drive that ended in six points for San Francisco. Williams, like Johnson, has to flush this game and move forward with a better effort.

WINNER: Christian Roland-Wallace

Rounding out the cornerback rotation, undrafted rookie Christian Roland-Wallace got his first real NFL action aside from special teams this weekend. The first-year man logged a pair of tackles and also snagged his first career interception. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes seems to be a big fan of the former Arizona and USC man's talent, which should bode well for him moving forward.

LOSER: Justin Watson

A season ago, wideout Justin Watson turned in the best year of his career and seemed to emerge as a trustworthy target for Mahomes in the passing game. In his age-29 campaign, he's been anything but that and his production has regressed. After a two-catch, 27-yard performance in Week 4, he has combined for one target, one reception and eight yards in the two games thereafter. Despite seeing the field for a higher percentage of snaps than last year (56% compared to 51%), Watson isn't making much of an impact. That's one of the underrated disappointments of the Chiefs' season thus far, in this writer's opinion.

WINNER: George Karlaftis

Defensive end George Karlaftis hasn't been bad this season by any stretch of the imagination. With that said, his production through five games hadn't matched what he did in his sophomore campaign. On Sunday, he looked much more like that level of player. Not only did the former first-rounder make a couple of nice run stops in the 49ers' first three drives, but he logged a sack in the second quarter and had a fourth-quarter pressure that resulted in a bad throw and eventual interception by Brock Purdy. Karlaftis was quite disruptive in Week 7, which is a good thing for Steve Spagnuolo's defense.

LOSER: Skyy Moore

It almost feels like beating a dead horse at this point. For the second game this season, receiver Skyy Moore got a legitimate target but couldn't complete the catch. Kansas City has already cut down his workload relative to last year, and failing when being put in rare positions to succeed isn't the way to reverse that trend even a bit. Moore continues to be a net negative on the field for the Chiefs, and there might not be an end in sight.

Read More: In a Season of Attrition, the Chiefs' Defense Deserves Credit for KC's Undefeated Start