Defending champs in disarray vs. KC

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Los Angeles Rams and Kansas City Chiefs were oh-so close to playing in the Super Bowl in February.

Today, they’ll get to face each other under far different circumstances at Arrowhead Stadium.

The Rams are off to a 3-7 start, the worst in NFL history by a defending Super Bowl champ, and things only appear to be getting worse. Matthew Stafford is in the concussion protocol, which means unheralded Bryce Perkins will get his first start at quarterback, and his supporting cast will be without injured wide receiver Cooper Kupp and the Rams’ leading rusher, Darrell Henderson Jr., who was released this week.

“It’s been challenging,” acknowledged Rams Coach Sean McVay, who is mired in his first four-game losing streak.

“There’s a lot of different things that we’ve worked through as it relates to the injuries, the moving parts, and some of those types of things. And so you just have to be able to say, ‘Alright, who’s up next? What does that look like?’ ”

Up next for the Rams? One of the hottest teams in the league.

The Chiefs have followed up their brutal AFC title game letdown against the Bengals by romping to an 8-2 start, led by a young and hungry defense and an offense that may be even better without Tyreek Hill on the roster.

Kansas City has the league’s top offense, pass offense and scoring offense through the first 11 weeks, and Coach Andy Reid’s group tends to get even better this time of year. The Chiefs have won 24 in a row in November and December.

“We have good players, good locker room. Coaches that are willing to work. I mean, a combination that does well, but it’s everybody,” Reid offered by way of explanation. “It’s not one thing we’re doing.”

Since the Bengals played spoiler in a Rams-Chiefs showdown

in the Super Bowl, the franchises haven’t faced each other since 2018, when they played one of the epic regular-season games in NFL history. Jared Goff threw a 40-yard TD pass to Gerald Everett with 1:49 left to give the Rams a 5451 victory that day.

Most of the faces have changed, though some remain the same. Aaron Donald will still be trying to chase down Patrick Mahomes, who in turn will be trying to get the ball out to Travis Kelce as quickly as possible.

“They still have a ton of talent. They’re still a great defense,” Mahomes said. “[Donald] strip-sacked me twice when we played them; we have to account for him every time we’re on the field. [Jalen] Ramsey is a great player. They have great players throughout that defense.”

The offense has been another matter this season.

“Without a doubt,” McVay said, “you try to remain positive within the framework of the things you can control and shift your energy and focus toward those things. That will continue to remain consistent for me and for our coaches.”

“They still have a ton of talent. They have great players throughout that defense.”

Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes on the Los Angeles Rams