The Kansas City Chiefs are straight up 5-0 after handing the Los Angeles Chargers a 22-6 beatdown at Arrowhead on Sunday. What’s wild is their wide receiver room, totally banged up, still went off and dropped some serious contributions on the stat sheet. With Rashee Rice sidelined by a hamstring and Tyquan Thornton out for extensive time with a dislocated ankle, everyone was talking about Kansas City needing to add more talent at receiver for a deep run. This week, the Chiefs put their in-house guys to the test against a division rival, and they delivered.
The Numbers Don’t Lie: Depleted Room Steps Up
Patrick Mahomes threw for 272 yards total, and a solid 137 of those came from the four wide receivers who played. Xavier Worthy absolutely led the charge, snagging seven receptions on all seven of his targets for 72 yards. Rookie Cyrus Allen followed that up, catching two passes on two targets for 27 yards. Second-year player Jalen Royals pulled in two of four targets for 24 yards, and even journeyman Andrew Armstrong got in on the action with one catch for 13 yards. These guys, with so many key players out, showed up big.
Xavier Worthy Went Ballistic
The Chiefs were clearly committed to getting the ball in Worthy’s hands from the jump, making him a major focal point in the opening script. The offense used Worthy’s crazy speed out of condensed sets, with plays straight up designed to get him into open space. We saw it when Mahomes’ run-sell stole the defense’s eyes after a pre-snap motion, and Worthy flared quickly to the flat before working a route across the middle. The Chargers were in zone, and Worthy just found that perfect pocket behind the linebackers and in front of the secondary. A questionable block in the back erased a thirty-plus-yard gain, but the Chiefs didn’t care, they kept feeding Worthy.
Later, Mahomes took a quick drop from under center and absolutely rifled a missile to Worthy, who hauled it in. The motion from Walker out of the backfield drew the corner with him, and the safety gravitated toward Travis Kelce, leaving Worthy all alone. It’s tough to say if that was a defensive breakdown or pure Chiefs design, but the only thing that kept it from being a touchdown was a high pass from Mahomes. Then, right before halftime, the Chiefs went to Worthy again with shallow patterns in space. Out of the bunch formation, the offense ran a mesh look to take advantage of the Chargers’ man defense. Worthy ran a shallow drag, barely getting past the line of scrimmage, but his speed on the corner covering him was undeniable. His man got lost in the “trash,” and Worthy ended up wide open on the other end. Mahomes delivered a great ball, and Worthy got out of bounds to stop the clock, giving his team a shot at a last-second field goal.
Royals Showing Up
The Chiefs also found smart ways to get the ball to Jalen Royals, using elements of their play-action game and the newer condensed sets they’ve rolled out this season. Royals has proven this season to be a “qual,” and that’s a big deal. The chatter all week was about bringing in more talent to that receiver room, and hey, a move for more talent still could be in the works. But after watching Worthy, Allen, Royals, and Armstrong step up huge against a division rival, you gotta wonder if these guys showed everyone they already have the talent to make a deep run. Keep an eye on how these guys develop, because if this is the start, it’s gonna be a wild ride.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Arrowhead Pride.
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