Rams fall to Chiefs 26-10

KANSAS CITY – The Rams (3-8) fell to the Chiefs 26-10 on Sunday at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.

The Rams defense held the Chiefs (9-2) in check in the redzone, holding them to a pair of field goals in their two trips in the first half, and also mostly limited explosive plays. The exception and difference was Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes connecting with tight end Travis Kelce for a 39-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter, that contributed the Rams’ 13-3 halftime deficit.

The Chiefs extended their lead to 20-3 on a 3-yard touchdown run by running back Isiah Pacheco, but the Rams answered on the ensuing drive with a 7-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Bryce Perkins to wide receiver Van Jefferson to trim their deficit back to 10 early in the fourth quarter.

Safety Nick Scott‘s interception in the endzone with 8:50 left gave the Rams a chance to further chip away at that deficit, but Perkins was intercepted by Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed two plays later. Sneed’s 25-yard return on the pick set the Chiefs up at the Rams 10-yard line, and led to a short field goal that extended the Chiefs’ lead to 23-10 with 6:39 remaining.

Perkins was intercepted again on the following possession, and the Chiefs kicked another 22-yard field goal to go up 26-10. But with 1:44 remaining, there wasn’t enough time for the Rams to overcome that 16-point deficit.

Making his first career start, Perkins completed 13 of 23 pass attempts for 100 yards with one touchdown against two interceptions, and also rushed nine times for 44 yards.

Meanwhile, the Rams defense held the Chiefs offense to 1-of-6 in the redzone.

Here is the complete game recap:

The Rams’ first drive didn’t get off to an ideal start. After forcing the Chiefs to punt on their first drive, they were backed up to their own 4-yard line and eventually forced to punt. However, they managed to make up for it by recovering a muffed Chiefs punt at the Chiefs 43-yard line.

On that second drive, Perkins was sacked for a 10-yard loss on first down. His 8-yard scramble and 18-yard completion to Jefferson on 3rd and 12 appeared to get the Rams back into Chiefs territory, but the Chiefs successfully challenged and overturned the originally ruling of a catch by Jefferson, so the Rams were forced to punt.