Oct 26, 2014; Kansas City, MO; Rams quarterback Austin Davis (9) is sacked by Chiefs linebacker Dee Ford (55) and defensive end Allen Bailey (97) during the second half at Arrowhead Stadium. Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Governor’s Cup found a home in Kansas City after the Chiefs trounced the St. Louis Rams(2-5) 34-7, in part by the sack party thrown by the Chiefs defense.
Rams quarterback Austin Davis was thrown to the ground by six different Chiefs players on seven different occasions.
The Chiefs went over .500 with the win, putting them at 4-3 on the year, and the road ahead for Kansas City looks promising.
The next portion of the schedule for the Chiefs contains the New York Jets (1-7), Buffalo Bills (5-3), a struggling Seattle Seahawks (4-3) team and the Oakland Raiders, a team currently 0-6 as of this publishing.
Here are five highs and lows from Sunday’s game:
HIGHS
• The Brazilian is on a streak. Rookie kicker Cairo Santos was 2-for-2 on field goals, drilling one for 53 yards and another for 28 yards. He has made eight straight field goals after starting the season 2-of-4. Santos made both extra point attempts as well.
“It felt really great and the ball stayed straight,” Santos said. “The crowd let me know better, because I couldn’t really tell how far it was going to go. As soon as the ball came off my foot, they started cheering, that’s when I knew it must be enough.”
• Running back Knile Davis opened up the second half with a 99-yard kickoff return to the big house, expanding the Chiefs’ lead 17-7. This was the second special teams touchdown of Davis’ career, both coming at Arrowhead Stadium. His first came in Week 13 against Denver last season, where Davis returned a kickoff for 108 yards.
• Many players on the Chiefs defense got their hands on Davis. Kansas City had seven sacks on Sunday afternoon. Linebacker Justin Houston led the charge with three sacks, defensive end Allen Bailey continued a solid season by chipping in with 1 1/2 sacks, while four other players recording sacks.
• The Chiefs receiving solid performance from two key offensive members. Running back Jamaal Charles had 117 all-purpose yards (73 yards rushing, 44 yards receiving) and two touchdowns against the Rams, including a season-long 36-yard touchdown run in the second half. Through the air, quarterback Alex Smith completed 24-of-28 passes on 226 yards with an 85.7 completion percentage and a 100.3 quarterback rating. Before Week 8, Smith’s highest completion percentage (76.9) came against New England on Monday Night Football in Week 4.
• Defensive back Ron Parker had a career game. Parker grabbed a pivotal interception, four tackles and one sack. The interception and the sack were his first of the season.
“I wasn’t even coming on a blitz,” Parker said about his sack. “I was sitting back in coverage and I kind of saw him just standing there like he had nobody to throw to. I was like, ‘Well, let me go get him.’ So I just played football and went and got it.”
LOWS
• Smith had a slight case of butter fingers. He fumbled twice in the contest, bringing him to three fumbles on the year. Fortunately for him, just one of those fumbles was recovered by the Rams. The other fumble made its way out of bounds before the Rams could pounce on it.
• The Chiefs receiving corps have gone without a touchdown all season. Smith has thrown just nine touchdown passes on the season, all of them landing in the hands of tight end Travis Kelce, tight end Anthony Fasano, running back Jamaal Charles or running back Joe McKnight.
• Cornerback Jamell Fleming and linebacker Josh Martin left the game early due to pulled hamstrings. Coach Andy Reid said more details will be known Monday as to the extent of their respective injuries.
• The Rams sacked Smith twice, bringing his season total of times sacked to 18 on the season. Smith is on pace to be sacked 40 times this season. This projection is much less than earlier in the season, but there is still work to be done with the offensive line.
• The Chiefs were penalized seven times for 51 yards. This is the third time of the season the Chiefs had seven flags thrown against them. The majority of the penalties from Sunday have come from false starts or holding calls.
