The Kansas City Chiefs improved to 5-0 on Sunday with a 22-6 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Chiefs’ offense was far from perfect, but their depleted wide receiver room still contributed significantly. With Rashee Rice (hamstring) out and Tyquan Thornton (dislocated ankle) set to miss extensive time, the Chiefs needed veterans and young players to step up.
Throughout the week, much of the discourse around Kansas City focused on adding talent at wide receiver to bolster
the position ahead of a deep run.
A move for more talent could be in the works, but this week, the Chiefs gave their in-house talent a chance to show what they could do against a divisional rival.
A look at the numbers
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw for 272 yards, with 137 coming between four wide receivers.
Xavier Worthy led the way with seven receptions on seven targets for 72 yards. Rookie Cyrus Allen followed with two receptions on two targets for 27 yards. Second-year player Jalen Royals caught two of four targets for 24 yards, and journeyman Andrew Armstrong caught one pass for 13 yards.
Xavier Worthy
The Chiefs emphasized putting the ball in Worthy’s hands early, and he was a major focal point of the opening script.
The offense took advantage of Worthy’s speed out of condensed sets, with plays designed to use him in space.
After a pre-snap motion, Patrick Mahomes’ run-sell steals the defense’s eyes, and Worthy flares quickly to the flat before working a route across the middle of the field. The Chargers play zone coverage, and Worthy finds open space behind the linebackers and in front of the secondary.
A questionable block in the back erases a thirty-plus-yard game, but the Chiefs would keep going Worthy’s direction.
From under center, Mahmes takes a quick drop and rifles the ball to Worthy, who hauls in the missile. Walker’s motion out of the backfield draws the corner with him, and the safety gravitates toward Travis Kelce, leaving Worthy alone.
It is hard to tell whether this is a break by the Chargers’ defense or a Chiefs design, but the only thing preventing a touchdown was Mahomes’ high pass.
Just before halftime, the Chiefs would once again look to get Worthy involved with shallow patterns in space.
Out of the bunch, the offense runs a mesh look to take advantage of the Chargers’ man defense. Off the snap, Worthy runs a shallow drag, not getting much depth past the line of scrimmage, but he has the speed on the corner covering him.
His man gets lost in the “trash,” and Worthy ends up free on the other end. Mahomes delivers a good ball, and Worthy gets out of bounds to stop the clock and give his team a chance at a last-second field goal.
Jalen Royals
The Chiefs found ways to get the ball to Royals that incorporated aspects of their play-action game and the newer condensed sets they have been using this season.
Royals has proven this season to be a quality blocking wide receiver and has lined up on multiple snaps around the line of scrimmage.
Royals has made his impact on the roster this season with blocking and effort, but on critical downs and distances, he is quickly becoming the Chiefs’ “secret weapon” out of these traditionally heavy formations. This is the kind of play that can leave defenses guessing and lead to bigger plays for Royals down the line.
Cyrus Allen
Allen was a hot commodity during the preseason, but his impact this season has been minimal until this game.
Allen saw only nine snaps, but he made the most of his opportunities.
Lined up in the slot, Allen attacks the heart of the defense and immediately creates a mismatch for the linebacker trying to pick him up. With outstanding acceleration, Allen gets past the linebacker level and finds the spot between the two high safeties.
Mahomes delivers a missile, and Allen catches the pass in stride before being tackled. The timing and precision required to pull this play off shouldn’t be overlooked, and it’s even more impressive that he and Mahomes have had so few live snaps together in games. If Allen keeps making plays like this, he should earn a bigger role in the offense.
Andrew Armstrong
Journeyman Andrew Armstrong played 42 snaps on Sunday, and he took advantage of his opportunities. While he mostly blocked, he made the most of his chances.
The Chiefs are Armstrong’s third team since joining the league as an undrafted free agent last season.
On his first two teams, he didn’t see the field; Sunday marked his NFL regular-season debut. In the red zone, he made his first career catch on a nice route to beat the coverage.
On the snap, Armstrong gets out of his stance and works the in-cut after beating his coverage to the spot in the middle of the field. Mahomes throws a good pass, and Armstrong focuses and hauls it in.
The play was basic, but Armstrong will never forget it.
The bottom line
The Chiefs’ wide receivers made the most of their opportunities on Sunday.
Worthy showed he can take on a larger role in the room, while Allen, Royals, and Armstrong all made their case for more playing time.
It is still uncertain whether the team will add more firepower ahead of the trade deadline, but the current unit is doing what it can to earn more playing time.
