Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid fittingly summarized his team's Week 12 matchup against the San Diego Chargers on Sunday.
"Well, we had a tough loss, obviously," coach Reid said. "A lot of points scored on both sides and the last person with the ball ended up winning the game. There are some things we can obviously do better offensively. The turnover that we had ended up in points, and as the game went on, we needed those points and the field goal in the red zone, we have to make sure we punch that in and get that taken care of. Defensively, we didn't end either half the way we wanted to. It looked like crossing routes were a bit of an issue. In special teams, we let penalties there, which cost us our field position. So, there are a whole lot of things we can learn from and that's what we're going to do. We'll work on getting ourselves better from this. We'll have the guys in (Monday) and we'll make sure we evaluate the tape and get ourselves ready to play a good Denver football team coming in here."
Despite not getting the "W" on Sunday, the Chiefs produced some stats that are very much worth a second look.
SMITH THROWS TRIO OF TOUCHDOWNS: QB Alex Smith completed 26 of 38 passes for 294 yards with three touchdowns and one interception, good for a 106.7 passer rating. It marks the 10th time in Smith's career that he has thrown three touchdown passes in a single game, carrying a 6-4 record in those contests. It is the second time this season he has thrown for three touchdowns in a contest, going 1-1 in those games.
Smith's 106.7 passer rating is his highest of the season and is his second 100.0-plus rating of the 2013 campaign. He is 1-1 in games when throwing for more than a 100.0 passer rating in 2013. Smith has recorded 13 games with a passer rating of more than 100.0 as a starter, going 12-1 in those contests.
AVERY HAULS IN TOUCHDOWN: WR Donnie Avery caught a 32-yard touchdown pass from QB Alex Smith, giving him two touchdown receptions for the season and 14 touchdown receptions for his career. Avery finished with four receptions for 91 yards (22.8 avg.) in the contest, leading all Chiefs receivers in yardage. He now has 32 catches for 507 yards (15.8 avg.) in 2013, leading all Chiefs pass catchers in receiving yards.
CHARLES FINDS PAYDIRT, PASSES CENTURY MARK: RB Jamaal Charles rushed 14 times for a season-high 115 yards (8.2 avg.) in Sunday's contest, tying a career-high with two rushing touchdowns. It marks just the third time in his career that he has scored two rushing touchdowns in the same game, with one of those contests coming this year against the Oakland Raiders (10/13/13). He also had a season-long rush of 46 yards in the game. His 115 yards mark the highest single-game rushing total of the season, the second time he's eclipsed the 100-yard mark in 2013.
He has 200 carries for 918 yards (4.6 avg.) in 2013, needing 82 yards to surpass the 1,000-yard mark for the fourth time in his career.
He now owns 10 touchdowns (eight rushing, two receiving) for the season and 34 career touchdowns (25 rushing, nine receiving). This marks the first time in Charles' career that he has recorded double-digit touchdowns (rushing and receiving).
Charles added four receptions for 42 yards (10.5 avg.) in the game. He owns 53 receptions for 425 yards (8.0 avg.) this season, ranking first on the team in receptions and third in receiving yards. With 157 scrimmage yards (115 rushing, 42 receiving), it marks the ninth time this season that Charles has recorded at least 100 yards from scrimmage.
FASANO FINDS END ZONE: TE Anthony Fasano caught a four-yard touchdown pass from QB Alex Smith. It marks his second receiving touchdown in as many weeks. He now has two receiving touchdowns for the 2013 season and has 26 receiving touchdowns in his career.
BOWE GRABS TOUCHDOWN: WR Dwayne Bowe caught five passes for 51 yards (10.2 avg.) in Sunday's contest, including a five-yard touchdown reception from QB Alex Smith. It marks touchdown receptions in back-to-back contests for Bowe and gives him four receiving touchdowns for the season and 43 touchdowns for his career. His 43-career touchdown receptions rank fifth in team history.
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