Chiefs keen to cut down on costly mistakes

The Green Bay Packers led the NFL in turnover margin last year and are off to a good start this season. The Chiefs, who visit Green Bay on Monday, are coming off a head-shaking performance.

Before last week’s loss to the Broncos, the most turnovers committed by the Chiefs during a game in the Andy Reid era was three. They exceeded that by two in their 31-24 loss to Denver at Arrowhead Stadium on Thursday. And some were killers.

Jamaal Charles’ fumble that Bradley Roby returned for the winning touchdown in the final seconds. ... Alex Smith’s interception that led to a short-field touchdown for the Broncos. ... And another Charles fumble deep in Denver territory that prevented a Chiefs score.

In all, it was a disastrous night for ball security.

Asked about the miscues on Monday, Reid focused on the giveaways his team made, not the takeaways the Broncos came up with.

“I’m a little hard on turnovers,” Reid said. “I mean, there are times when the helmet hits right on the ball. We don’t make excused for that; that’s not what we do.

“I would tell you that most turnovers, most of the time, you can take care of.”

That was the problem. The Chiefs didn’t take good care of the ball, and that’s uncharacteristic of this team.

On Smith’s first interception, Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib jumped the route. The second was caused when Smith’s arm was hit.

On both of Charles’ fumbles, a Broncos defender knocked the ball loose.

“I should have put two hands on the ball,” Charles said after the loss.

To Reid, extra effort caused the first and not holding the ball tightly enough the second.

“Sometimes you get into those second-effort things where you’re trying like crazy and the ball got off his body just a little bit, at least on the first one,” Reid said. “The second one, he had it pretty good, it just got hit right on it. It’s just a matter of keeping it high and tight. I don’t worry about it. He’ll be fine as we go.”

The Chiefs led the NFL in points off turnovers in 2013, Reid’s first year in Kansas City, and owned the league’s second best turnover-margin, gaining an average of 1.2 turnovers per game.

Last season, the turnover rank dipped to 21st, but the Chiefs threw the league’s fewest interceptions.

Chiefs takeaways played a huge role in their opening-weekend victory over the Houston Texans. A Marcus Peters interception on Houston’s first snap led to a quick touchdown, and so did a fumble recovery after a sack and strip.

All of which made the Chiefs’ giveaways a strange sight against the Broncos.

Throw in nine penalties and an 0-for-7 on third-down conversions, and it was a wonder the Chiefs were still in position to win the game late.

The Packers (2-0) weren’t flawless Sunday night, losing lost two fumbles during their home victory over the Seattle Seahawks. But quarterback Aaron Rodgers didn’t throw an interception, which is no surprise: He threw his last pick at Lambeau Field on Dec. 2, 2012, a stretch of 17 games and 512 attempts, with 41 touchdown passes since his last interception at home.

“I think he’s probably a pretty good player and does a pretty good job,” Reid said.

This story was originally published September 21, 2015 at 5:13 PM with the headline "Chiefs keen to cut down on costly mistakes."