Team’s confident of Super goals

K A NSAS CITY, MO.» The Kansas City Chiefs walked out of Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles late Monday night confident that they could beat the Rams if they should get a rematch in the Super Bowl.

If only they don't have to beat themselves, too.

For all the positives the Chiefs did during their 54-51 shootout loss to the Rams — and there were plenty — the glaring mistakes overshadowed them. Patrick Mahomes tossed a trio of interceptions, lost a pair of fumbles and was sacked three times. The defense gave up too many big plays. Harrison Butker missed an extra point. And the Chiefs were penalized 13 times for 135 yards.

Yet the Chiefs still led the Rams in the fourth quarter in a record-setting, backand-forth offensive bonanza. They still had a chance to beat one of the NFL's top teams on the road.

“I mean, the fact that we were in this game with three scoring turnovers, we gave them 21 points off turnovers and they're a good team,” Chiefs wide receiver Chris Conley said.

“If we can eliminate those penalties, and those turnovers, this game is a different game.”

The Chiefs (9-2) had done that most of the season. They only had eight turnovers over their first 10 games, and while penalties have been a constant problem, they had been able to overcome them.

That all changed Monday.

Los Angeles linebacker Samson Ebukam returned Mahomes' first fumble for a touchdown in the second quarter. He returned an interception 25 yards for another score in the third. And two interceptions in the final minutes scuttled any chance of setting up Butker for a tying field goal.

“You go back in a game like this, heck, I wish I would have called some different plays. We can all do better,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said.

The Chiefs will have a bit of extra time for that selfassessment. They returned to Kansas City for their bye week.