Arrowheadlines: Kansas City Chiefs News 10/5

Game Recap: Chiefs Fall to the Bengals, 36-21, Drop to 1-3 on the Season from The Mothership

Santos' 7 field goals in the game set a Chiefs franchise record.

RB Jamaal Charles and WR Jeremy Maclin had standout offensive games for the Chiefs. Charles rushed 11 times for 75 yards and had 6 receptions for 70 yards receiving. Maclin had 11 receptions for 148 yards receiving.

Linebacker Josh Mauga left the game in the first quarter with a thigh injury and did not return.

The 1-3 Chiefs return to Arrowhead Stadium Sunday to face the Chicago Bears at 12:00 p.m. CT.

Chiefs vs. Bengals: 10 Observations from The Mothership

Charles finished with 7 carries for 56 yards and 5 receptions for 57 yards.

Maybe the thing that was even more impressive was the way in which he fought his way through the first and second levels of the Bengals defense, high-stepping his way through the traffic to help put the Chiefs in position to score points.

While the offense couldn't punch it through when they closed in on the red zone, Charles did his part in getting them down there.

The Chiefs scored on all four of their first-half possessions, but unfortunately they were all field goals.

KCChiefs.com Videos: Chiefs vs. Bengals: Game Highlights

Chiefs QB Alex Smith's sack number dominates conversation in Week 4 lows from Chiefs Digest

There were several ugly facets, yet a few shining moments, in Kansas City's blunder against Cincinnati.

LOWS

The offensive line continued its protection woes. Quarterback Alex Smith was sacked five times, including three times in the first half. So far this season, Smith has been sacked 18 times, a number that leads the NFL. At this rate, Smith is on pace to be sacked 72 times during the 2015 campaign, which would tie for No. 2 all-time. Last season, Smith was sacked a career-high 45 times.

Another big day for the opposing QB in Chiefs' 36-21 loss to Cincy from The Associated Press via FS Kansas City

It was another rough day all around for Kansas City (1-3). Alex Smith was sacked five times, the Chiefs settled for Cairo Santos' club-record seven field goals, and the defense couldn't keep up with another one of the NFL's top passers.

The Chiefs have been beaten by Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers and Dalton in the past three weeks. In the past two, Rodgers and Dalton went a combined 41 of 59 for 654 yards with six TD passes.

Dalton came into the game trailing only Rodgers on the league's passer rating list. He's been significantly better at throwing on the run this season, and had another out of pocket big play at the start of the second half that put the Bengals in control.

Alex Smith, Chiefs fail to handle the pressure in loss to Bengals from ESPN

The word is out on how to defend the Kansas City Chiefs: Pressure them. Quarterback Alex Smith and his offensive teammates don't handle it very well.

That inability to take the heat manifested itself in a different way Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Chiefs couldn't get a touchdown.

Chiefs sputter in Bengals' territory, drop third straight game after losing 36-21 from Chiefs Digest

Reid's defense struggled most of the day, giving up five touchdowns, including four rushing scores, something they had not done in three previous games. They allowed Cincinnati's offense seven plays of 20 yards or more, with two of those plays going for more than 50 yards. The Chiefs defense did not force a turnover and did not sack Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton, who threw for 321 yards.

But all of those field goals came from mistakes and poor play when the Chiefs offense moved the ball inside the 50-yard line.

Shaky pass protection, penalties and minus yardage plays all combined to keep the Chiefs offense out of the end zone. Alex Smith threw for a career-high 386 yards, wide receiver Jeremy Maclin caught 11 passes for 148 yards and running back Jamaal Charles touched the ball 17 times for 145 total yards.

Week 4 game balls: Chris Ivory, Josh Norman, Pierre Garcon, Jay Cutler among Sunday's stars from ESPN

BENGALS 36, CHIEFS 21 | ANALYSIS

Cairo Santos. He set a Chiefs record by making all seven of his field goal attempts. Santos made kicks from 22, 40, 51, 34, 40 again, 29 and 51 again. He accounted for all of the Chiefs' points. -- Adam Teicher

Jeremy Hill. The honors go to Hill, who plowed through the Chiefs' defense in a variety of goal-line situations to score three rushing touchdowns. Hill had his fantasy owners scratching their heads entering the game. By the end of it, he likely left many of them smiling. -- Coley Harvey

Chiefs' Cairo Santos sets team record with seven field goals in 36-21 loss to Bengals from Chiefs Digest

"It's always great to go out there and perform well and do your job," Santos told reporters after the game. "But I think I would have happier if I kicked seven extra points and won the game instead of field goals."

Nevertheless, going 7 of 7 on field goal attempts is an impressive feat despite the Chiefs' third straight loss.

"It's exciting to kick well," Santos said. "Those long ones were into the wind, so it was kind of a tough day of kicking with the weather. We fought through and kicked well."

Chiefs receiver Jeremy Maclin continues to build chemistry with Alex Smith from ESPN

The Chiefs wasted an excellent chance for a touchdown late in the half. They drove to the Cincinnati 23 with 33 seconds left but had a delay of game penalty after a timeout that pushed them back five yards.

Those yards would have come in handy.

Notebook: Zach Fulton draws start at right guard for Chiefs against Bengals from Chiefs Digest

"We called the timeout and the refs — you don't know (as) the TV (broadcast) dictates whether it's going to be a 30 second time out or a long time out — so we come over to the sideline and no one told us anything," Smith told reporters. "And all of a sudden they had started the clock because it was a 30-second timeout and no one told us anything. It's all dictated from the TV (broadcast). We had no idea. No one had told us anything."

The confusion and lack of communication apparently didn't sit well with Smith.

Week 4 fantasy winners and losers: Freeman impresses again, Foster falls flat from ESPN

Jamaal Charles: The Chiefs playmaker entered the week as fantasy's No. 1 running back, and he continued to pile up the points. Averaging 8.5 yards per touch, Charles gashed the Bengals' defense on the ground and through the air for 14 points.

Cairo Santos: Who? The Kansas City kicker capitalized on the offense's inability to convert drives into touchdowns. Santos nailed all seven of his field goal attempts against the Bengals, scoring 27 fantasy points. That's eight more points than any other kicker has scored this season.

Chiefs get their kicks (seven of them, in fact) but nothing more against Bengals from KC Star

In a 36-21 loss in which the Chiefs amassed 461 yards, held the ball for 36 minutes 53 seconds and were forced to punt just once, Santos' terrific day — nary a miss and two from 51 yards — epitomized the squandered effort that left the Chiefs in the doldrums of a 1-3 start to what largely was projected as a playoff season.

This was a day that might have been memorable for Alex Smith reasserting himself despite a still-ridiculous level of harassment (five sacks tells only part of the story) as he threw for a career-best 386 yards.

Or with a turn or two, it might have become a game known for the Chiefs rallying despite a handful of whopping gains by the Bengals on Chiefs coverage breakdowns enabled by their incredible disappearing pass rush.

(With zero sacks on Sunday and only one against Green Bay, evidently Pass Rush City has been annexed by Past Laurels County.)

Game report: Bengals 36, Chiefs 21 from KC Star

Coaching

D

First, the good: give Chiefs coach Andy Reid credit for getting his guys ready to play after a couple of tough losses. Effort wasn't a problem, and offensively, they moved the ball well. They also tried to rectify the subpar play at nickel corner by putting Ron Parker there and upgrade the nickel run defense by using more sets with three interior linemen. But the delay of game penalty out of the timeout was embarrassing — no matter how it happened — and Reid will be criticized for his clock management at the end of the first half and his decision to kick a field goal trailing by 14 in the fourth quarter. Also, Bob Sutton's defense allowed 30-plus points for the third straight game. Not good enough.

Chiefs Blitz: The good, the bad, the ugly from Sunday's 36-21 loss to the Bengals from KC Star

1. Where are the Alex Smith critics now?

Yeah, they're still out there. Even after a career performance, they'll knock the fact his team lost anyway, and he'll shoulder the blame for failing to get his team into the end zone. That's what happens when you're the lead guy, and it's not totally unfair. But unlike the Green Bay loss, the blame for this one can be spread around plenty.

Cairo Santos makes history in the NFL in defeat the Kansas City Chiefs from Terra Brasil [translated from the original Portuguese]

Cairo Santos left the field embittering the third defeat of his team, the Kansas City Chiefs in four games. This time for the best team in the AFC North early this season, the Cincinnati Bengals at 36 to score 21. But left applauded, as did all the team's points and by hitting seven field goals in its seven attempts, He broke the franchise record.

After the match, the Brazilian showed satisfaction with the brand achieved even with the setback away from home.

Domata Peko debuts the "Belly Dance" from Cincinnati.com

Rey Maualuga shook his head and laughed.

Domata Peko smiled wide.

It's not every day when the 10th year defensive tackle is out in space, in the backfield, bringing down the quarterback. Twice. In one game.

The last time that happened for Peko was on Dec. 24, 2006 in Denver, when he brought down Jay Cutler twice.

Monday NFL preview: Dolphins, Eagles among teams in trouble from ESPN

Finding a third cornerback to go with startersSean Smith and Marcus Peters is essential. The Chiefs tried their third different nickel back in three games, but Ron Parker wasn't much better than either Marcus Cooper or Jamell Fleming. Opposing quarterbacks have taken to working on that third corner, often with success. -- Adam Teicher

Eagles fans make plea to get Andy Reid back from KC Star

While many Chiefs fans were expressing their displeasure with coach Andy Reid, a number of Eagles fans were wishing he was back in Philadelphia. Take a look:

Early fantasy pickups: Jay Cutler a streaming option for Week 5 from Yahoo! Sports

Cutler, who had sat last week due to the injury, performed reasonably well in a win over the Oakland Raiders. He finished with 281 yards passing and two touchdowns. While Cutler did turn the ball over twice, he led a drive in the final minute of the game to set up Robbie Gould for a game-winning field goal.

Chicago's next opponent, the Kansas City Chiefs, have given up 10 passing touchdowns through four games. Further benefiting Cutler's cause is the expected return of top receiver Alshon Jeffery, who has been hampered by leg injuries.