Column: Tidbits on Chiefs, Chargers* for football geeks

Quick hits on the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers* following K.C.’s 30-13 victory Saturday.

• This was the biggest game for Team Spanos in years. It didn’t go well. The Chargers* were outplayed and outcoached. Will they learn from it? They still have an outside shot at the playoffs. Several of their younger players hadn’t played in such an intense, high-stakes game.
• The two Melvins were L.A.’s top performers. Melvin Ingram succeeded as both a run defender and pass rusher. Melvin Gordon appeared quicker, more decisive than in several other games.
• Philip Rivers got too greedy on the pivotal interception that began L.A.’s unraveling in the third quarter. He seemed to expect Tyrell Williams to angle toward the sideline instead of the post. The presence of two defenders argued for a pass to another target or a pulldown. At the time, L.A. trailed 17-13.
• The Chiefs carried out a “next level” defensive game plan. To good effect, they mixed up their coverages and pressure packages. They were especially varied against Keenan Allen. They were less apt to play press man against him than is typical for them or other Chargers* opponents.
• K.C. got big plays from its best players: Alex Smith. Marcus Peters. Travis Kelce. Kareem Hunt. Justin Houston. Chris Jones.
• Chiefs safety Ron Parker is a smart, versatile defender who once again played well against Team Spanos.
• After the Week 3 game in Carson, Chiefs blockers expressed disappointment in their performance. Guard Bryan Witzmann told me that L.A. defensive’s linemen, especially Ingram and Joey Bosa, played well. He said he didn’t want to say much about K.C.’s blocking, implying that it wasn’t up to expectations.
• This time around, the Chiefs were more varied and forceful in their blocking. K.C. mixed it up to good effect. Both their guards and right tackle Mitchell Schwartz fared well as pull blockers. It’s atypical for a right tackle to pull left and make plays, but Schwartz did.
• In the first half – before L.A. linebacker Denzel Perryman went down – K.C. ran four consecutive “man” blocking plays involving a puller or two. Hunt gained six or seven yards on each play. Impressive.
• In the second half, K.C. switched to more “zone” runs and once again gashed the Chargers* several times. They bullied L.A. defenders.
• The effective blocking extended to Chiefs tight ends. Kelce knocked Joey Bosa off the line as few tight ends have, and Demetrius Harris had two effective blocks against Bosa. When tight ends win against linemen, that’s a big boost to an offense. K.C.’s did so more than L.A. could have expected.
• Hunt was Hunt. Special. He won with vision, play strength, elusiveness and burst. Also, the rookie caught a touchdown pass and knocked Bosa to the ground with a chip block as Bosa went against a lineman. The Chiefs drafted Hunt in the third round last April.
• For Bosa, it was an uneven game. He showed good chase. Against Schwartz, one of the NFL’s better right tackles and certainly the best right tackle in the AFC West, he created one clean pressure but couldn’t get home. Overall, it was one of his lesser outings. He was energetic, but his play strength grade would be as low as any I can recall for his two-year career.
• Casey Hayward had a bad game. Without safety help, he tried to press Tyreek Hill. The gamble failed, resulting in a 64-yard touchdown. He missed two key tackles and seemed less aggressive. He went into the game questionable because of a calf injury.
• On third-and-21, L.A. dropped eight defenders at least 18 yards back and gave up an 18-yard gain to a backup tight end, Orson Charles, leading to a field goal.
• Smith set up the play. When he scrambled against a three-man rush, Charles leaked out of blocking duty and Smith hit him with a short pass.
• Here’s why I wondered if the defense was too respectful: The Chiefs had inserted two players who don’t command an extreme “prevent” defense: Charles and fullback Anthony Sherman.
• The 18-yard gain created fourth-and-3, and the Chiefs converted with a slick play that motioned Hunt to the backfield, revealing that Adrian Phillips was playing him in man coverage. Because that created a good angle for Hunt to get outside, and because three Chiefs receivers ran toward Phillips — rendering him a salmon swimming upstream — the play resulted in a clean look and a big gain.
• The Chargers* missed too many tackles.
• Chiefs receiver Albert Wilson is stronger than he may appear. He drove safety Jahleel Addae back a few yards with a block. After a catch, he made three defenders miss.
• Smith wasn’t “pinpoint” accurate but his mental processing and decision-making were very good. One of his better plays was a pump fake that freed up Kelce from Phillips, good for 21 yards on third-and-5.
• As for the offensive lines, the Chiefs are a bit more talented than L.A. at a few spots. As for Chiefs left tackle Eric Fisher, he’s adequate but hasn’t evolved as hoped when he was drafted first overall. They will need better work from him in the Super Bowl tournament, if they win the AFC West as expected.
• The Chiefs have become nemesis No. 1 to Rivers, a factor in K.C.’s 8-0 record against Team Spanos since 2014.
• In the two games this season, Rivers had six interceptions and one touchdown pass. And the numbers could be worse. Peters, who patrols the defense’s left flank as a cornerback, de facto safety and mind-reader, dropped an interception in Week 3 that probably would’ve gone for a “pick six.” On Saturday night, Rivers was fortunate that a long floater to the end zone wasn’t intercepted (two Chiefs defensive backs, including the savvy Peters, collided while trying to catch it). On the same drive that culminated in L.A.’s first-half touchdown, Rivers didn’t appear to see a linebacker. The medium-depth pass got swatted; if the linebacker had tipped it upward, it could’ve been picked off.
• Rivers had scorched several other pass defenses in recent games.The Chiefs have been good at keeping him off balance and did so once again Saturday. Rivers didn’t anticipate the delayed blitz, by safety Eric Murray, that resulted in a drive-stopping sack in the first quarter. Later in the game, when K.C. tried the same blitz, Rivers anticipated it and hit Allen for a key gain.
• Credit goes to Chiefs defensive coordinator Bob Sutton and his staff, and several Chiefs defenders, notably Peters, Parker, Houston and Jones. They can play high-level chess, and the recent addition of cagey Darrelle Revis added to this group’s high football IQ. Revis, it should be noted, has a history of playing well against Rivers-led offenses.
• My hunch is that Chiefs safety Daniel Sorensen, a good player who also had a fine game, is also a key piece in K.C. consistently understanding how to defend Rivers-led offenses. His brother, quarterback Brad Sorensen, was a Chargers teammate to Rivers for a few years. Brad Sorensen was in the San Diego quarterbacks room for dozens of meetings. He understands how Rivers thinks. He also trained under current play caller and coordinator Ken Whisenhunt. It doesn’t hurt to have some inside intel.
• Chargers* “speed” receivers Tyrell Williams and Travis Benjamin both came up short on several plays. The sync between them and Rivers wasn’t good. Rivers’ final interception owed to Benjamin running wider than anticipated. Williams was unable to hold onto the deep first-quarter pass that hit both of his hands. He is having an uneven third NFL season. Benjamin has poor play strength and has made bad decisions in big games this year. When he ran toward the sideline instead of going upfield to get a first down, the play before Rivers’ second interception, a few on the the Chargers* sideline appeared dismayed. It was a poor decision.
• I don’t think Rivers does himself any favors when he vents as he does after interceptions.
• Chiefs nose tackle Bennie Logan dropped backed into coverage and landed hard on Allen to complete a tackle. The two then had words. Several plays later, Allen was out of the game with a back ailment. Logan also clocked Hunter Henry, incurring a roughing flag for the blind-side hit at the tail end of a turnover play. Henry returned to the game but was reported to have sustained a lacerated kidney, likely ending his season.
• In both victories over L.A., veteran Houston made a pivotal, timely pressure play to clinch victory. He isn’t the dominant pass-rusher he was before reconstructive knee surgery, but he is still a good all-around player. Veteran Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson, a player Chargers vets greatly respected, has lost some steam but further raised K.C.’s know-how.
• Neither special teams unit had a good game, but Chiefs players had the biggest plays. Harris and Charles prevented the Chargers* from recovering a fumble near Kansas City’s 15 after a muffed punt, and Kansas City’s kicker, Harrison Butker, made a 51-yard kick to make it a “two-score” game late in the third quarter. The Chargers’ Travis Coons yanked a one-point kick; from a similar distance to begin his Chargers* gig, he missed right. He was released this week.
• The Chargers* came up with a clever play to open their first drive of the second half. They ran three pass-catchers deep and criss-crossed two pass-catchers underneath. Gordon came open and Rivers hit him. The result was a 49-yard gain that led to a go-ahead touchdown.

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Tom.Krasovic@SDUnionTribune.com; Twitter: SDUTKrasovic