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Ugh.
That's all.
This fireable offense of a Chiefs season made its prime-time debut on Thursday night, every misstep and fumble and failure of a 31-13 loss to the (not quite as) sorry Chargers broadcast in high-definition to what we can assume was a horrified national audience.
This season is so far noteworthy for the historic achievement of going half a season without holding a lead in regulation, and for turning Romeo Crennel from a dignified and accomplished man to one painfully without answers about how he steered a talented team into oncoming traffic.
"I feel like I can still play," Charles said. "I'm fine right now. I feel good. I came off the field pretty good. I feel like I could have gone back in, but they told me to relax."
Charles was one of three Chiefs starters injured in the game. Left guard Jeff Allen has a possible concussion. Defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, who hadn't played since a September game against New Orleans, reinjured a calf muscle and didn't return.
In last week's wire-to-wire loss to Oakland, the Chiefs became the first team not to hold a lead during its first seven games since the 1929 Buffalo Bisons, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The NFL was founded in 1920, so the Chiefs' dubious record covers a lot of bad football teams that managed to at least poke ahead of their opponents before losing.
Who will start at quarterback in the next game at Pittsburgh?
Brady Quinn, if you believe what coach Romeo Crennel said last week. He said Quinn was the Chiefs starter once he is cleared from his concussion, so it's doubtful he'll change his mind. Especially after the two turnovers in the fourth quarter. It would be shocking to see Crennel send Ricky Stanzi into Pittsburgh for his first NFL appearance.
Dexter McCluster took several direct snaps in the wildcat formation. Sometimes they worked, such as gains of 13 yards and six yards in the second quarter. But he came up short on third and one at the 35 on the first possession of the third quarter.
The rest, as they say, is history. Demorrio Williams picked off a pass that Dexter McCluster didn't want to catch (after being laid out by Atari Bigby earlier in the game on a similar pass) and outran a bunch of Chiefs players that didn't want to chase him for another touchdown. The blowout was official and Norv's wacky bunch gets to keep their coach for at least another week for a matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Video: Matt Cassel press conference
Video: Romeo Crennel press conference
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Dwayne Bowe recorded eight receptions for 79 yards in tonight's game. With that performance, Bowe now has 401 career receptions, becoming only the fourth player in Chiefs history to record at least 400 receptions. He now has 5,498 career receiving yards, needing only eight more receiving yards to pass E Chris Burford (5,505) for sixth place.
Notes: Chiefs starting left guard
Jeff Allen was ruled out of the game during the second quarter with what was announced as a head injury. He was replaced byRuss Hochstein ... Chiefs defensive endGlenn Dorsey was announced as questionable to return early during the third quarter with a calf injury. Dorsey had missed the last four games, also with a calf injury. ... The Chiefs ran four plays from the Wildcat formation, with McCluster taking the direct snaps and gaining 17 yards on four carries.
"It's absolutely disappointing," Cassel said. "Romeo told us before the game, we've got to eliminate penalties, turnovers and not allow big plays on defense, and I don't know if we accomplished any of that.
"We fought hard, we played hard, but the end result comes down to turnovers and that seems to continue to rear its head for this team."
"We put ourselves in the position we're in and the only way we're going to get out of it is to fight our way out of it," coach Romeo Crennel said. "We're going to keep working and try to get it right."
Crennel later said he wasn't concerned for his job.
"I'm worried (only) about the next game," he said.
Reason to hope: The Chiefs were able to stay competitive through three quarters.
Reason to mope: The first 7 minutes of the fourth quarter were as ugly as any stretch this season.
Rivers' interception was the only mistake he'd make on the night. Coming off two forgettable performances in losses to the Broncos and Cleveland Browns, Rivers completed 18-of-20 attempts for 220 yards with two touchdowns for a passer rating of 125.0 on the night. What makes Rivers' performance more impressive was the Chargers were playing without two of their top three receivers, with free agent additions Robert Meachem and Eddie Royal both inactive due to hamstring injuries.
Rivers, opportunistic defense lead Chargers past Chiefs | Yahoo! Sports