Chiefs pummel Justin Herbert, remain undefeated but lose Rashee Rice: Key takeaways

By Nate Taylor, Daniel Popper, Cale Clinton

The Kansas City Chiefs found another way to win in their fourth straight one-score game, securing their fourth 4-0 start of the Patrick Mahomes -Andy Reid era with a 17-10 victory on the road against the Los Angeles Chargers .

Of course, the game didn't start out in the Chiefs' favor. Los Angeles's defense came out hot, forcing a fumble and an interception on the Chiefs' first two drives before forcing Kansas City into back-to-back three-and-outs. Two straight Chargers scoring drives put Los Angeles out to an early 10-0 lead. Even worse, Chiefs leading receiver Rashee Rice was carted off the field and ruled out with a knee injury. Reid told reporters after the game Rice will have an MRI on Monday, and he's not expecting positive news.

After being a no-show through the first three weeks, tight end Travis Kelce returned to form by leading the team with season highs of seven receptions and 89 receiving yards. Running back Kareem Hunt also took the lion's share of the workload on the ground in his first game with the Chiefs since his release in November 2018.

Despite their impressive start, the Chargers finished the game rather predictably. Justin Herbert struggled to manage pressure on his high-ankle sprain without either of his starting tackles. The Chiefs sacked Herbert twice while delivering 10 quarterback hits, and held the Chargers to their worst game on the ground this season. Los Angeles finished the afternoon with 55 total rushing yards on 24 carries.

Chiefs offense makes do without Rice

This was not the offense the Chiefs projected to be — or even wanted to be, really — before the season began. But at the start of the second quarter, the Chiefs found themselves without veteran receiver Marquise Brown , running back Isiah Pacheco and second-year receiver Rice. Still, Mahomes and the rest of the Chiefs managed to do what was necessary to exit SoFi Stadium with another win. Mahomes' performance was disjointed for much of the game, but he did enough in the fourth quarter to engineer a game-winning touchdown drive.

A positive for the offense was the season debut of Kareem Hunt, who appears to be the team's newest starter after an effective performance of 14 rushing attempts for 69 yards. After Hunt helped the Chiefs move the ball down the field, veteran running back Samaje Perine scored the game-winning score on a 2-yard touchdown run. — Nate Taylor, Chiefs beat writer

Kansas City continues defense-first run

Through four games, the Chiefs still have a dominant defense, even with cornerback L'Jarius Sneed being traded to the Tennessee Titans in the offseason.

The Chargers took a 10-point lead in the first quarter after capitalizing on the Chiefs' two giveaways. After the first quarter, however, pass rusher Chris Jones dominated the line of scrimmage. Jones, the Chiefs' best defender, collected two sacks and was the reason coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's unit was to manufacture another clutch stop deep inside the red zone early in the fourth quarter. After a timeout, the Chargers decided to keep their offense on the field for a fourth-and-1 play from the Chiefs' three-yard line. Jones beat backup right guard Sam Mustipher with his quickness to generate immediate pressure on Herbert, who threw an incompletion where the ball was nowhere close to one of his pass catchers in the end zone.

The Chargers never moved the ball past midfield again. Herbert's last snap of the game finished with him getting sacked by Jones on a third-and-11 play with less than four minutes left. — Taylor

Short-manned Chargers struggle up front

In the end, this game unfolded rather predictably. The Chargers offensive line was missing both starting tackles in Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt . Trey Pipkins started at right tackle in place of Alt. Jamaree Salyer started at left tackle in place of Slater. And practice squad lineman Sam Mustipher started at right guard.

The Chargers could not run the ball. They finished with 55 yards on 24 carries. Penalties and failed runs put them in disadvantageous downs and distances. And the offensive line could not protect in those known-pass situation. The Chiefs hit Herbert 10 times, leaving him limping after a couple of those hits. The Chargers could not even slow down defensive tackle Jones, who had two sacks. Scoring 10 points is not going to get it done against Mahomes and this offense. — Daniel Popper, Chargers beat writer

Chargers' defense done in by a few key plays

Jesse Minter's defense still did a commendable job. But a couple loose plays did the Chargers in. There was the 54-yard touchdown to Xavier Worthy . And then on the Chiefs' winning touchdown drive, Mahomes dodged an oncoming rusher before completing to Noah Gray for a 29-yard gain. Gray was wide open. The Chiefs scored five plays later. — Popper

(Photo: Kevork Djansezian / )