What We Saw 2023: Week 7

Los Angeles Chargers @ Kansas City Chiefs

Final Score: Chiefs 31, Chargers 17

Writer: Brian Hartman (@TooMuch_Brian on Twitter)

In a game that showcased promising offenses and persistent pressure, the Kansas City Chiefs secured a 31-17 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers. Patrick Mahomes exhibited his exceptional passing skills, delivering 424 yards and four touchdowns to Travis Kelce, who emerged as a dominant force with 12 receptions for 179 yards and a touchdown. Rashee Rice breathed life into a listless Chiefs’ receiving corps, contributing a 38-yard catch-and-run. On the Chargers’ side, Justin Herbert faced relentless pressure by enduring five sacks and managing 259 passing yards. Herbert did display moments of resilience and brilliance while coping with an injured left hand. The Chiefs’ Isiah Pacheco sealed the game with a late touchdown.

The Chiefs’ defensive pressure proved to be the key to Sunday’s winning formula in an intense division rivalry. As the Chiefs rise to the top of the AFC West, the Chargers look ahead to regroup, bounce back, and stay relevant in the playoff picture.

Three Up

• Rashee Rice – The rookie breakout has begun. Today was by far the most routes run on the season for the second-round pick for the Chiefs.
• Travis Kelce – I don’t know if we can be any higher on Travis Kelce, especially after leading the position in receptions and yards on National Tight End Day.
• Joshua Palmer – Palmer was far and away the most productive receiver on the field. The amount of work he is seeing shows us that he should be on fantasy rosters.
• Isiah Pacheco – This stout Chief’s defense matches well with Pacheco and the running game. Even in negative game scripts, you’d have to be still confident with his catching ability in the passing game.

Three Down

• Quinton Johnson – Between his snap share, target share, and routes run, the first-round rookie isn’t doing enough to warrant a bench spot on your roster. Look elsewhere.

Los Angeles Chargers

Quarterback

Justin Herbert: 17/30 comp, 259 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs | 2 carries, 5 yards

Justin Herbert faced relentless pressure with five sacks but still managed 215 passing yards on the day. You could see him on multiple occasions favoring his left hand, knowing that this could be up to a six-week injury; we’re bound to see it cause some issues in this offense. He finished the day with two interceptions, the first one being a bad pass that fell up in the air for what seemed like an entire minute before finally coming down and being grabbed by the Chiefs.

Running Back

Austin Ekeler: 14 carries, 45 yards | 2 targets, 1 reception, 1 yard

Austin Ekeler did not look like himself in his first day first game back from the injury. It was a very pedestrian day, with only 45 yards on 14 carries. We’ve seen a good chunk of time with him on the sidelines, so I was curious to see if he’s still bothered by his injury. We will track him throughout the week to ensure there are no injury setbacks.

Joshua Kelley: 7 carries, 75 yards, 1 TD

Joshua Kelly didn’t get much run today, but put in work on the seven carries he did get, and made his presence known. This might be frustrating for fantasy managers, because for weeks prior when Ekeler was out, Kelley could barely manage positive yardage. Today, he ripped off a huge 49-yard touchdown run. It’s fair to wonder if he can keep this up in a role complementary to Ekeler’s next week.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Joshua Palmer: 7 targets, 5 receptions, 133 yards

This version of Josh Palmer, is he here to stay? This guy was supposed to come in and simply play a role, but he had a day with five receptions for 133 yards. He had a huge chunk play down to the 9-yard line and almost scored. It seems the rookie Quinton Johnson isn’t ready to step up, so Palmer could be a regular piece in this offense and a good addition to your fantasy team.

Keenan Allen: 9 targets, 4 receptions, 55 yards

I can’t say enough about this Chiefs defense this year. Keenan Allen got his usual nine-plus targets today, but bringing in only four for 55 yards is not what fantasy owners like to see, especially with Mike Williams out for the season. The Chiefs clearly game-planned to control Keenan and keep him contained, and he struggled as a result.

Derious Davis: 3 carries, 14 yards | 2 targets, 1 reception, 10 yards

Quinton Johnson: 2 targets, 1 reception, 20 yards

Sadly, the rookie hasn’t been able to take advantage of the opportunity created by Mike Williams’s ACL injury. Johnson’s lone catch came on a comebacker when he was wide-open. It was an easy ball to catch, but nothing exciting happened afterward. He had one other target that he couldn’t pull in. Let’s hope this isn’t a lost pick for the Chargers.

Gerald Everett: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 26 yards, 1 TD

Lightning struck in the form of Gerald Everett again today, who pulled in a touchdown just as he did in Week 6. It wasn’t a huge day in terms of yardage gained, but Everett seems to be emerging as one of  Herbert’s favorite targets in the red zone. Gerald Everett even had a target in the end zone in the third quarter that he couldn’t bring in. He’s a nice streaming option with all these injuries and upcoming bye weeks.

Missed Opportunities

• A late touchdown target in the third quarter could’ve pushed his day over the top. I hope these end zone targets continue to come his way.

Donald Parham: 3 targets, 1 receptions, 9 yards 

Kansas City Chiefs

Quarterback

Patrick Mahomes: 32/42 comp, 424 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT | 4 carries, 29 yards

Patrick Mahomes orchestrated a symphony of precision passes and conducted a masterpiece against the Chargers’ defense. He was a completion factory when targeting his most trusted weapon, Travis Kelce, a connection that was as electric as the Charger’s lightning bolt logo. Mahomes’ ability to dissect a defense was on full display when he painted the field with a dazzling array of passes, amassing 424 yards and four touchdowns.

Running Back

Isiah Pacheco: 13 carries, 32 yards | 4 targets, 4 receptions, 1 TD

Pacheco has been quite the unstoppable force. In Weeks 1 and 2, he averaged 8.7 PPR points per game. Since then, he has averaged 17.2 PPR points. He hauled in a screen pass late in the game and gave himself a touchdown to push the Chiefs over the edge. He has been the greatest compliment to this tough Chiefs defense, allowing Mahomes to be a piece of this great team instead of the whole, entire show.

Jerrick McKinnon: 2 carries, 2 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 24 yards

Clyde Edwards-Helaire: 2 carries, 5 yards | 1 target 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Marquez Valdes-Scantling: 5 targets, 3 receptions, 84 yards, 1 TD

Marquez Valdes Scantling played well tonight despite only having three receptions. He typically runs a lot of empty routes, but his run-after-the-catch metrics were impressive in this one. MVS was great with the ball in his hands and made a big play or two, including pulling in the first touchdown pass thrown by Patrick Mahomes, a 46-yarder.

Rashee Rice: 6 targets, 5 receptions, 60 yards, 1 TD

Rashee Rice was a catalyst in a game filled with explosive plays. He added a huge breakout catch and run to set the Chiefs in a positive field position. Rice ran the third most routes behind only Kelsey and Marquez Valdes Scantling. This was also by far the largest amount of time he spent on the field this season.

Skyy Moore: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 15 yards

Skyy Moore continues to be nothing more than an auxiliary piece in this offense.

Kadarius Toney: 1 target, 1 reception, 13 yards

Kadarius Toney didn’t do much, but hey, at least he didn’t get hurt.

Mecole Hardman: 3 targets, 1 reception, 6 yards

Mecole Hartman didn’t do a lot in the offense. His most notable play came on special teams late in the fourth quarter when he returned a boot for over 30 yards. Hardman is likely to see an increase in snaps over the coming weeks, but while he could play a role in this offense, it’s unlikely to be a fantasy-worthy one.

Travis Kelce: 13 targets, 12 receptions, 179 yards, 1 TD

Travis Kelce, the Chargers’ perpetual nightmare, emerged as a towering titan on National Tight Ends Day. Kelce not only had 12 receptions for 170 yards including 79 yards and a touchdown, but also summoned pivotal pass interference calls that left the Chargers feeling like mere mortals in the presence of a gridiron god.

Missed Opportunities

• The only opportunity would be the lone target he dropped, which kept his streak of 27 passes from continuing.

Noah Gray: 1 target, 1 reception, 8 yards