“A knee may hit a fraction earlier, and where’s the ball?”
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“This is how I felt when he came out of college”, Reid said. “He’s an emotional player”. Kelce caught a crucial third quarter pass on 4th and 5, and again in overtime with an 8-yard catch on 3rd and 3.
San Diego Chargers linebacker Jatavis Brown (57) blocks a throw by Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith (11) during the first half of an NFL football game in Kansas City, Mo., Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016.
After a cautious first half, Smith aired it out more in the second and averaged 10.9 yards per completion. “They’re both good things to know”.
Phillip Rivers completed 25 of 36 passes against the Kansas City Chiefs.
They faced a fourth-and-2 while holding a 27-10 lead.
Second-year pro Marcus Peters failed to contain Chargers’ receiver Keenan Allen for the majority of the first half.
While running back Danny Woodhead led the Chargers in receptions previous year and tight end Antonio Gates was third on the team, behind Allen, Stevie Johnson’s 45 receptions were fourth and Dontrelle Inman was next among receivers with 35 catches.
“In the first half, we stopped ourselves, we didn’t execute and we didn’t have enough energy”, Ware said of his team’s first-half efforts that produced only 105 yards and a field goal. “I had all the confidence in the world in him (Lambo)”. A half of football like that will get you beaten against a better team. “That was the turning point”.
Smith was 34 of 48 for 363 yards and two touchdown passes and had 15 rushing yards.
Over their final four drives, the Chargers accumulated just 45 yards of offense on 16 plays.
It was a remarkable turnaround for the Chiefs.
The Giants (1-0) won the debut of Coach Ben McAdoo after 12 years and two Super Bowl titles under Tom Coughlin while spoiling the first game for Dallas’ Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott.
Even with the season ending injury, the San Diego Chargers believed that Keenan Allen was a long term solution for them at wide receiver.
The comeback was complete when Smith dashed 2 yards into the end zone on an option read with 9:53 left in overtime.
Spencer Ware was the heart, power and soul of the Chiefs offense. Only Ware was able to consistently generate offense, with almost 200 yards and a score. On multiple occasions, Smith was forced from the pocket, resulting in three sacks for -33 yards.
“I think everyone knows how bad we played”, Smith said after the 33-27 overtime victory. “At halftime we came in and made some adjustments and we went back out and had a great team and organizational comeback with a mentality of four quarters”.
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Jamaal Charles did not play Sunday against the San Diego Chargers in the Kansas City Chiefs season opener.
