Chiefs 22, Chargers 6 — Week 6: Four Sacks, No Touchdowns Allowed

Kansas City beat the Chargers 22-6 at Arrowhead Stadium, and the defense won it without allowing a touchdown. The Chargers ran 10 snaps inside the Chiefs' 20 and scored on none of them, settling for two Cameron Dicker field goals. Kansas City led 19-3 at halftime on two Kenneth Walker III touchdowns and two Harrison Butker field goals. It took the ball away twice and gave it away once. The offense moved the ball and finished 2 of its 10 drives in the end zone.

The passing game was efficient rather than explosive, and success rate tells it: 56.7% of 30 pass plays were successful, meaning they gained what the situation asked for. They were worth +2.8 expected points added (EPA), what a play is worth given down, distance and field position against what the situation was already worth. That is +0.09 a play, under the +0.20 this offense carried in. Patrick Mahomes completed 23 of 30 for 272 yards, no touchdowns and an interception, and was not sacked. Xavier Worthy caught all 7 of his targets for 73 yards, Travis Kelce 4 of 5 for 53, and Noah Gray 3 for 53, 31 of them on one first-and-10 throw in the third.

The run game scored both touchdowns and still came in under its own standard, which EPA per play shows: 25 rush plays were worth +1.7, +0.07 a play against +0.15 coming in, for 153 yards and a 48% success rate. Walker carried 19 times for 128 yards. His first score came on third and 1 at the Chargers' 33, up 3-0 midway through the first quarter: up the middle, 33 yards, touchdown. That run was worth +3.5 EPA and 9.5 points of win probability, the estimate of each side's chance to win. Butker missed the extra point, so it stood 9-0. The second came from 2 yards out with 1:53 left in the half. The miss came at the same goal line in the third: fourth and 1 at the Chargers' 1, up 19-6, Walker went left guard for no gain, -4.0 EPA.

The pass defense smashed, and the EPA allowed is the number: the Chargers' 41 pass plays were worth -16.7, -0.41 a play against -0.03 allowed coming in. On defense, a big negative is good. Only 26.8% succeeded. Justin Herbert completed 22 of 37 for 204 yards, no touchdowns and an interception, and was sacked four times: George Karlaftis, Ashton Gillotte and Chamarri Conner had one each, and Peter Woods and Chris Jones split one at the Chargers' 1. The leak was a single throw, Quentin Johnston's 57-yard catch to the Kansas City 1 on third and 12 early in the third. It came to 3 points: a holding penalty moved the Chargers back to the 11, Herbert's next three throws were a 1-yard loss and two incompletions, and Dicker kicked from 30. The takeaway that closed the door came with 9:50 left, up 19-6: third and 1 at the Kansas City 37, Herbert threw short right to KeAndre Lambert-Smith for a yard, L'Jarius Sneed forced the fumble and Drue Tranquill recovered at the 38, -4.8 EPA to the Chargers. The defense got off the field on 11 of 16 third downs.

The run defense beat its standard quietly, and success rate leads: 27.3% of the Chargers' 22 rush plays succeeded. They gained 73 yards and were worth -2.9 EPA, -0.13 a play against -0.10 allowed coming in. Omarion Hampton ran 7 times for 18 and Kimani Vidal 7 for 21. Right after the goal-line stop, Felix Anudike-Uzomah held Herbert to no gain at the Chargers' 1.

The game turned in the second quarter, on two interceptions that went opposite ways. Up 9-3 with 10:59 left in the half, second and 3 at the Kansas City 42, Herbert threw short right for Lambert-Smith, Gillotte got to him, and Jack Cochrane intercepted at the 35 and ran it back 48 yards to the Chargers' 17. That snap was worth -7.9 EPA to the Chargers and 15.4 points of win probability, the largest swing of the game. The drive died at the goal line: third and 2 at the 2, Mahomes threw short right for Andrew Armstrong, and Cam Hart intercepted in the end zone for a touchback, -5.9 EPA and 13.9 points. Kansas City answered on its next two drives, with Walker's 2-yard touchdown and Butker's 50-yarder with 7 seconds left in the half.

The one to watch next is the red zone. Kansas City ran 14 snaps inside the Chargers' 20 and scored one touchdown, with the interception at the 2 and the fourth-down stop at the 1 in that count, and converted 3 of 10 third downs. Butker made 3 of 4 field goals and missed an extra point. A defense that allowed no touchdowns covered for all of it this week; the question is whether the offense turns those trips into sevens before it has to.

That's your Chiefs, every game, by the numbers. Muffed does the same deep dive for all 32 teams. Follow the Chiefs on Muffed and next week's episode is waiting the moment it's out. No theater. Just the football.

_Data via nflverse._