Chiefs keep winning even as they lose star players, with knee injury to Rashee Rice only the latest

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs keep winning close games.

They also keep losing important players.

The Chiefs' latest escape job came Sunday in Los Angeles, when they weathered more first-half problems t o rally for a 17-10 win over the Chargers.

But it came at the expense of budding star Rashee Rice, who sustained a severe knee injury when he was hit by Patrick Mahomes while making a tackle following an interception early in the game.

Two weeks ago, Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco fractured his fibula just before Harrison Butker kicked the field goal that gave them a 26-25 win over Cincinnati. And when the injuries to Rice and Pacheco are added to the potentially season-ending surgery on wide receiver Marquise Brown's shoulder, the Chiefs are suddenly without three of their biggest offensive stars.

That's a tough way for any team to operate, even one coming off back-to-back Super Bowl titles.

“We have guys here that have experience playing in games,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Monday. “We have a good group of guys here that we can utilize. We normally spread the ball around and that is what we'll continue to strive to do.”

Still, while the Chiefs' defense was the star against the Chargers, the offense did show signs of life. Mahomes hit first-round pick Xavier Worthy with a long touchdown pass, Travis Kelce finally got going with seven catches for 89 yards, and Kareem Hunt ran 14 times for 69 yards in his first game since the Chiefs signed him to help replace Pacheco's production.

More than anything else, though, the Chiefs need Mahomes to play better to overcome so many injuries on that side of the ball.

The two-time league MVP struggled for the fourth straight game, going 19 of 29 for 245 yards with a TD pass and a pick made more costly by Rice's injury on the play. Mahomes also was sacked three times as the offensive line struggled to protect him.

“I think it's a matter of cleaning it up,” Mahomes said. “We scored 17 and we scored in the 20s these last few weeks, and I feel like it’s just a play here and there. It’s the interception I throw to Travis — if I put it on his body that gets the drive going. We have a fumble in the red zone on the first drive where we got some momentum going. In this league if you’re scoring upper 20s to lower 30s, that’s good football. That’s good offense. We’re close. Coach Reid said it. We keep preaching it.”

What’s working

The Chiefs defensive line once again shut down an opposing running game. JK Dobbins had been averaging 103.3 yards through the Chargers' first three games, but he was held to 32 yards on 14 carries on Sunday. That came after the Chiefs shut down the Ravens' Derrick Henry (14 for 46), the Bengals Zack Moss (12 for 34) and the Falcons' Bijan Robinson (16 for 31).

What needs help

Turnovers continue to be a problem for the Chiefs, just as they were last year, when they were minus-11 on the season. Mahomes threw an interception while Carson Steele lost a fumble for the second time in three games.

Stock up

The Chiefs didn't know what to expect from Hunt, whom they brought back six years after they released him amid off-the-field problems. But he had more speed than he did last year in Cleveland, perhaps due to offseason sports hernia surgery.

Stock down

Steele, an undrafted rookie, had a chance to become a big part of the backfield with Pacheco out. But a second lost fumble did not help his cause, and he finished with two carries for 6 yards as Hunt and Samaje Perine took over in the backfield.

Injuries

The injury to Rice looms as the most significant of the season for Kansas City so far.

Key number

26 — That is the number of wins Kansas City has in its past 28 road games against AFC West rivals since 2015. Mahomes has been especially dominant against the division, improving to 31-5 in his career against those teams.

What’s next

The Chiefs return to Arrowhead Stadium after consecutive road games to play the Saints on Monday night. Kansas City has won three straight in the series, though the teams have not played since a 32-29 win in New Orleans in December 2020.