Chiefs handle shorthanded Rams, 26-10: Instant analysis of LA’s loss

No one expected the Los Angeles Rams to beat the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. They were 16-point underdogs by the time the ball was snapped, and that’s exactly how many points they lost by.

The Chiefs took care of the shorthanded Rams at home, beating them 26-10 at Arrowhead Stadium. Led by Bryce Perkins, the Rams struggled to move the ball offensively against a stingy Chiefs defense.

And even though Los Angeles kept the Chiefs out of the end zone on five of their six red zone trips, it still wasn’t enough for the Rams to get the job done. They’re 3-8 and headed back home for a game against the Seahawks.

Here’s a recap of how this loss to the Chiefs went.

Final score: 26-10

Game notes

Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

• The Rams started Bryce Perkins at quarterback, as expected. John Wolford was active, but he backed up Perkins.

• The Rams made two key plays on special teams that kept the offense on the field, but they were unable to capitalize. They recovered a muffed punt early in the first quarter, only to punt on the ensuing possession. They also converted a fake punt in the second quarter, continuing a drive that also ended in a punt.

• The passing attack was non-existent against the Chiefs. Perkins did what he could running the ball, but he had very little time to throw and when he did, his receivers were blanketed in coverage.

• The offensive line had a hard time against the Chiefs pass rush, which was to be expected with A.J. Arcuri and Matt Skura starting on the left side. Perkins was sacked three times.

• David Long Jr. and Derion Kendrick had especially tough days on defense, giving up big plays in coverage. Jalen Ramsey also gave up a touchdown to Travis Kelce, getting burned on a great route by the tight end.

• Michael Hoecht stepped up to fill in for Justin Hollins, who was cut last week. He played well, producing a holding penalty on the Chiefs and pressuring Mahomes a couple of times.

• The Rams held tough in the red zone against the third-best red zone offense in the NFL. The Chiefs scored touchdowns on just one of their six trips inside the 20, which is their worst conversion rate of the season. They had been scoring touchdowns on 72% of their red zone possessions.

It was over when...

… the Rams stepped off the plane. That’s an exaggeration, but let’s be honest: They had very little chance to win this game without Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, Allen Robinson, Brian Allen or any of the other key pieces they were missing.

In reality, the Rams kept it close for a surprising amount of the game, even after going down 20-3 in the fourth third quarter. The Rams battled back to make it 20-10, but a Chiefs field goal made it 23-10 with 6:36 left, which was too big a deficit for Los Angeles.

Play of the game

There wasn’t much to cheer about on offense or defense, but the Rams’ special teams unit was effective against the Chiefs. The best play of the day was a fake punt conversion on a pass from Riley Dixon to Jacob Harris for a pickup of 6 yards.

What's next?

The Rams will head home for a Week 13 game against the Seahawks, their first meeting of the season. At 3-8, Los Angeles has very little chance to make the playoffs, so this team is just playing for pride at this point. The Rams would love to spoil things for the Seahawks and hand them a loss as they fight for playoff positioning, but that seems unlikely.

Story originally appeared on Rams Wire