Winners and Losers From the KC Chiefs' Week 7 Victory Over the LA Chargers
The Kansas City Chiefs have won six games in a row after dropping their season opener, and they sit atop the AFC as a result.
On Sunday afternoon, Andy Reid's team hosted the Los Angeles Chargers in a game featuring two of the most talented quarterbacks and rosters in the entire NFL. After some back-and-forth in the first half, the hosts pulled away on offense and shut down the opposition on defense en route to a 31-17 victory. The Chiefs saw several players show up in big ways in Week 7, although some others also struggled to make the most of game day.
With that in mind, let's point out some of the Chiefs' biggest winners and losers from the seventh week of the NFL season.
Winner: Patrick Mahomes
Patrick Mahomes did have an ugly first-half interception that was an underthrown deep ball to Mecole Hardman but outside of that, the defending NFL MVP was nearly perfect. Completing 32 passes and throwing for 424 yards and four touchdowns, he was efficient inside and outside the pocket. Mahomes attempted passes to 11 different pass-catchers, converting with 10 of them. While still leaning on tight end Travis Kelce plenty (more on that later), the Chiefs' superstar quarterback turned in perhaps his best game of the season on Sunday.
Loser: Trent McDuffie
Second-year cornerback Trent McDuffie had a mixed bag of a game against the Chargers, making a very impressive third-down tackle on Gerald Everett and providing sound coverage for the most part. With that said, he also got picked on a few times by Herbert and had one specific play that stood out. In the third quarter, McDuffie interfered with Josh Palmer and still allowed a 25-yard reception anyway. Week 7 was a step down from McDuffie's usual level of play this season so he finds himself listed here, but he's still having a fantastic sophomore campaign.
Winner: Travis Kelce
After suffering an injury entering Week 1 and having a slow start to the season thereafter, some were wondering whether Kelce had enough in the tank to tap back into his peak form. On the heels of back-to-back games with at least 100 receiving yards, he's managed to answer those questions and then some. The 34-year-old had 12 catches for 179 yards and a touchdown on Sunday, composing a symphony with Mahomes in the passing game. He's all the way back.
Loser: Justin Reid
Like McDuffie, Reid did make a nice play in the secondary. He had a very impressive pass breakup in the fourth quarter on a ball intended for Palmer, which absolutely deserves to be noted. He also struggled to wrap up opposing ballcarriers, however, and was poor in coverage on multiple snaps. It was a tale of two halves for the veteran safety, with the first two frames being littered with less-than-ideal reps.
Winner: Charles Omenihu
In his Chiefs debut, Charles Omenihu made a very notable impact while playing just around half of the team's defensive snaps. The pass rusher had a tackle for loss, two hits on Herbert, a sack and a pass broken up that ended in a L'Jarius Sneed interception. Omenihu's workload will expand over the course of the next few weeks, which is good news for him and the defense. First impressions are important, and he made one hell of an initial one.
Loser: Justyn Ross
The Chiefs have been honest in alluding to Justyn Ross still needing some development on offense, and there was no greater example of that than Sunday's game. The second-year receiver was on the field for 17 snaps on offense but got just one target: a throw from Mahomes during the team's two-minute drill near the end of the first half. Ross was flagged for offensive pass interference on first down, setting Kansas City up with a first-and-20 situation. Ross needs to capitalize on his limited opportunities if he wants to see the field more often, which is the opposite of what he did in Week 7.
Winner: Marquez Valdes-Scantling
Marquez Valdes-Scantling had two catches for 48 yards in Week 1 and another two-catch outing in Week 2 but in Weeks 3-6, he had no more than one catch or 37 yards in a game. On Sunday, however, he broke out with five targets, three receptions, 84 yards and a touchdown on a classic Mahomes extended play. Valdes-Scantling did have one drop on a pass he probably should've fought backward more for but overall, the good far outweighed the bad for him against the Chargers.
Loser: Clyde Edwards-Helaire
In the same sentiment as Ross, just in a different context, running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire must make the most of the times he gets on the field. He's gotten three carries or fewer in four straight games, with Sunday marking the second time in a row that he got just two rushing attempts in a game. The fourth-year halfback logged five yards in Week 7, also dropping a pass on his lone target of the outing. There remains some role for Edwards-Helaire on offense, although it's becoming less and less clear.
