After falling behind early 7-0 to the St. Louis Rams on Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs scored 34 unanswered points to earn their fourth victory of the season and move to over .500 for the first time this year.
Of those 34 points scored, 24 of them came in the second half, where the Chiefs really took control of the game.
According to Chiefs coach Andy Reid, three of the most important statistics to an offense are third down conversion rate, red zone touchdown efficiency and time of possession.
On Sunday, the Chiefs were better than the Rams in all three of those categories.
| 3rd Down Conversion | Red Zone Efficiency | Time of Possession | |
| Rams | 3-11 (27%) | 1-3 (33%) | 24:22 |
| Chiefs | 6-12 (50%) | 2-3 (66%) | 35:38 |
Generally, when you're successful on third down, which the Chiefs were, the time of possession is going to be in your favor as well.
But the Chiefs have been successful in these categories more times than just this past Sunday.
In fact, the Chiefs rank third in the NFL in third-down conversion rate at 50.5 percent, fourth in red zone touchdown efficiency at 69.6 percent and sixth in time of possession at 32:28 per game.
The Chiefs were successful through the air throughout most of the game on Sunday, as quarterback Alex Smith finished the game 24 of 28 for 226 yards, including 14 of 15 for 111 yards in the first half.
On the ground, it wasn't until the second half before the Chiefs found much success running the football.
In the first half, the Chiefs ran the ball 12 times for just 14 yards, but it was a different story in the second half, when the Chiefs ran it 22 times for 129 yards.
The Chiefs offensive line's ability to control the line of scrimmage against a fantastic Rams front seven in the second half is what really broke this game open in the Chiefs' favor.
Let's take a closer look at some of the overall numbers from the Chiefs offense.
The most popular personnel grouping was "21 personnel," which means they had two running backs, one tight end and two receivers on the field together.
Altogether, the Chiefs used this group 16 times on Sunday. Of those 16 plays, 11 of them were rushes and five were passing plays. The 11 rushes accounted for 63 yards, while Smith went 4 of 4 for 41 yards through the air, which included a sack.
Of the 16 plays with two running backs and one tight end on the field, the Chiefs used four different combinations of running backs together:
Anthony Sherman and Jamaal Charles (2), Anthony Sherman and Knile Davis (5),Jamaal Charles and De'Anthony Thomas (6), Knile Davis and De'Anthony Thomas (3).
Coming into this game, the Chiefs used 21 personnel on 19 percent of their plays.
Of the 64 offensive plays the Chiefs ran in the game on Sunday, they came in the form of eight different personnel groups (classifying De'Anthony Thomas as a running back).
Five of these groups were used on at least nine plays in the game.
The Chiefs most explosive personnel group through the air was in "11" personnel, which means three wide receivers on the field. Alex Smith completed 6 of 7 passes for 77 yards in this group.
The most successful group overall had to be "21" personnel, which was described above.
A group that's gained a lot of attention over the past few weeks has been with all three tight ends on the field together, or "13 personnel." That's a combination of Anthony Fasano, Travis Kelce and Demetrius Harris on the field at the same time.
Photos from the Chiefs week eight win against the St Louis Rams
The Chiefs ran "13 personnel" 10 times on Sunday, which came out to four rushes for 23 yards and 6 of 6 through the air for 32 yards.
Another statistic that can help determine an offenses success over the course of the game is how they do on first down, which is an area the Chiefs also had success with on Sunday against the Rams.
The Chiefs had 27 first down plays against the Rams, and they ran the ball 19 times for 81 yards (4.26 ypc) went 8 of 8 for 54 yards through the air on those 27 plays.
When you have that kind of success on first down, the third down conversions become more manageable for the offense.
In the big play category, the Chiefs had 14 plays of at least 10 yards on offense.
Of those 14 plays, nine were on passes and five on rushes. They also came in five different personnel groups. Once again, the Chiefs offense found a way to be explosive with several different combinations of players on the field together.
