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.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Kansas City Chiefs for a Week 12 matchup at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Take a look at photos of punter Riley Dixon's fake punt, wide receiver Van Jefferson's touchdown & more from the matchup!
The next series, the Chiefs struck first with a 39-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Patrick Mahomes to tight end Travis Kelce for a 7-0 lead with 5:40 left in the first quarter.
A 47-yard field goal by Matt Gay at the start of the second quarter cut the Rams' deficit to four, but the Chiefs went back up by seven after a 27-yard field goal with 9:50 left in the second quarter. They were forced to settle for that chip-shot attempt after reaching the Rams 4-yard line and having a touchdown nullified by a penalty, then three-straight incompletions by Mahomes.
Los Angeles used a fake punt to keep its fourth drive alive, with punter Riley Dixon firing a 6-yard completion to wide receiver Jacob Harris. However, the series was derailed by Perkins getting sacked for 9-yard loss, and they would eventually punt anyway with 3:22 left in the first half. That punt by Dixon bounced out of bounds at the Kansas City 4-yard line, but the Chiefs still managed a 32-yard field goal at the end of the drive to extend their lead to 13-3 at halftime.
The Chiefs extended their lead to 20-3 on running back Isiah Pacheco's 3-yard touchdown run with 6:32 remaining in the third quarter.
Perkins' 7-yard touchdown pass to Jefferson on 4th and 2 pulled the Rams back within 10 at the beginning of the fourth quarter. The Chiefs reached the Rams 4-yard line on the ensuing drive, but Scott's interception of Mahomes in the endzone ended it.
The Chiefs would get the ball back shortly thereafter with Sneed intercepting Perkins, but the Rams held them to a 22-yard field goal with 6:36 left.
Perkins' second interception with 5:27 left effectively ended the Rams' last chance at erasing that 13-point deficit. While the Chiefs were held to a field goal again, the remaining 1:44 wasn't ample enough time for the Rams to mount a comeback.
