Kansas City Chiefs vs. San Diego Chargers Ten In-Depth Observations

Dec 28, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; San Diego Chargers running back Branden Oliver (43) celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the first half against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

3. The Chargers had a difficult time throwing the ball, but they were surprisingly good at running the ball. Donald Brown looked powerful when the Chargers called on him, as he consistently churned out yardage up the middle, and he always kept his legs moving against a vicious Chiefs front seven. Branden Oliver‘s 14-71-1 stat line tells you all you need to know, as he moved the ball nicely for the Chargers, who did a much better job of blocking for the backs than for Rivers.

The pass protection improved later in the game, but it was too little, too late for San Diego’s playoff hopes.I thought their best blocking came on the lone touchdown of the game, as Oliver’s one-yard touchdown run was one of the easiest scores you will see; the hole the Chargers opened up on the right side was indeed the parting of the Red Sea.

4. A team’s first drive is scripted and lets you know what their ideal gameplan looks like, and I thought the Kansas City Chiefs first drive gave some great insight on how they viewed this game. They ran some creative plays, as they dialed up a sweep for De’Anthony Thomas that caught the Chargers defense off guard, and Chase Daniel also successfully ran a read-option play. He finished a perfect 5-5 for 25 yards on that field goal-yielding drive, and it was clear from the get-go that the Chiefs wanted Daniel to play in a game-manager role.

At the beginning of the game, Daniel was excellent, as he looked calm in the pocket, always kept his eyes moving as he progressed through his reads, and he made some inch-perfect throws. The pick of the litter was a throw to Travis Kelce on the sideline, as the star TE was blanketed by Chargers safety Jahleel Addae. Daniel had just one place to put the ball, and he delivered a beauty.

As the game wore on, however, Daniel started to hold onto the ball too long, and the likes of Melvin Ingram took advantage. He finished the day with an inefficient 5.8 yards per attempt, and he didn’t throw many passes downfield. The Chiefs conservative gameplan worked, but that’s largely because of the excellent work on defense and special teams. That said, Daniel showed off some impressive accuracy at times, and he continues to look like a good second-string quarterback in this league.

Next: The same play, two different results