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Winners and Losers from the Chiefs’ Week 4 Victory Over the Chargers

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1 year ago

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Winners and Losers from the Chiefs’ Week 4 Victory Over the Chargers


Another week, another close Kansas City Chiefs victory to help keep the team’s undefeated record intact.

This time around, the back-to-back Super Bowl champs took down a battered Los Angeles Chargers team at SoFi Stadium. After some back-and-forth in the first half, Kansas City ultimately pulled away with a big-time offensive score and the defense shut the door on the home squad. It’s a 4-0 start for the Chiefs, and one that left plenty of room for growth.

With that in mind, let’s point out some of the Chiefs’ biggest winners and losers from the fourth week of the regular season.

Chris Jones, the unquestioned closer of the Kansas City defense, was fantastic on Sunday. Not only did the All-Pro defensive tackle get a sack to kill a Chargers drive late in the first half, but he also had another one late in the game to help bring things home. Jones’s pressure of Herbert to force a throw in the final frame resulted in a turnover on downs. It’s been a great start to the season for the CEO of ‘Sack Nation,’ and having another productive interior rusher like Tershawn Wharton (who had a good game in his own right) next to him surely helps the entire line.

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Carson Steele is a perfect example of how life in the NFL comes at you fast. A week ago, the undrafted free agent was coming off an inspiring performance on Sunday Night Football against the Atlanta Falcons and seemed to be the unquestioned top option to replace Isiah Pacheco. This past weekend, he had just two carries on offense and one of them was fumbled. Head coach Andy Reid opted for Kareem Hunt (more on that later) for the rest of the game. Steele also got his wires crossed with quarterback Patrick Mahomes on a play extension in the passing game. Reid says he isn’t down on Steele by any means, but his workload will be worth monitoring.

It isn’t too common for a punter to end up in the “winners” section, but here we are again with Matt Araiza. He had his best game as a pro on Sunday, amassing 200 yards on four punts and landing all of them inside the 20-yard line of Los Angeles. Two of them were inside the 10, putting the home team behind the proverbial eight-ball to start their drives. The ability to flip the field is an important aspect, even in the modern NFL, and Araiza displayed to to near-perfection in the fourth week of the season.

Speaking of the fourth week, that’s how long it took Skyy Moore to get his first target in the passing game this season. He logged a second one later on, although it was more of a throwaway by Mahomes. The one he did get a chance on, however, was a third-down pass that got dropped. If Moore’s role is already in question, not converting on his only real opportunity thus far is not the way to solidify things. The former second-round pick continues to underwhelm in his Chiefs tenure.

With Rashee Rice suffering a knee injury early in Sunday’s game, Kansas City desperately needed other options to step up in the passing game. Luckily for them, Travis Kelce and Xavier Worthy did exactly that. The former looked like himself in the box score for the first time all year, hauling in seven passes for 89 yards. Worthy, the Chiefs’ first-round pick, took advantage of a rare deep ball thrown by Mahomes and caught it for a 54-yard touchdown. The long-term viability of these two should Rice miss serious time is questionable, but they kept the offense afloat during a critical time in Week 4.

Let’s preface this by saying Jawaan Taylor has largely been nothing short of awesome in his second season with the Chiefs. His play isn’t represented by his Week 4 performance. With that said, the veteran right tackle got beat by Bud Dupree for a sack in the first half and committed a pair of false start penalties overall. That, combined with a holding infraction, made for a rough game. The worry scale is still hovering around zero, though, moving forward.

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Many expected Hunt to have some sort of duty in the Kansas City backfield, but it’s hard to have envisioned him looking as solid as he did on Sunday. The former third-round pick seemed to have a lot more burst than he did last year with the Cleveland Browns, and he amassed 69 rushing yards against the Chargers’ defense. The Chiefs are happy with what Hunt was able to do on the ground and in the passing game and with Steele struggling, it’s reasonable to anticipate a decent role for Hunt moving forward.

In a very out-of-character start to the season, Mahomes continues to play surprisingly poor football and is even holding the Chiefs’ offense back at times. On Sunday, he overthrew an ugly interception intended for Travis Kelce and accidentally took out Rice on the same play. Mahomes’s overall numbers were pedestrian – 245 yards, a touchdown and a pick – and advanced numbers like EPA per play (-0.08) reflect the same. His pocket presence is all over the place right now. Kansas City can clearly still win with this version of Mahomes, but they’ll surely be hoping for better outings in the future.

Read More: Four Takeaways from the Kansas City Chiefs’ 17-10 Win Over the LA Chargers



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City Hall intruder fatally shot by employee in Lawrence, Kansas, officials say

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January 5, 2026

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City Hall intruder fatally shot by employee in Lawrence, Kansas, officials say


An intruder was fatally shot by an armed city employee inside Lawrence City Hall in Kansas on Monday morning, officials said.

The 28-year-old man “forced his way into the building then broke through a door” on the fourth floor and into a secured area about 8 a.m., according to a police statement.

This led to an altercation with an armed city employee, Police Chief Rich Lockhart told reporters outside City Hall, about two miles north of the University of Kansas campus.

“During that altercation, the 28-year-old subject was shot and killed by the city employee,” the chief added.

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The intruder wasn’t immediately identified, and it wasn’t clear if he was armed.

Authorities didn’t immediately name the city employee or his job. But police did characterize the civil servant as “trained and authorized to carry a firearm.”

The fourth floor is home to the city manager, city attorney and budget manager.

Officials said they did not know why the man went to the fourth floor, and “it’s not someone that’s known to us,” Lockhart said.

City Hall was closed and should reopen Tuesday. A municipal court in the building won’t open again until Thursday.

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City Manager Craig Owens said he was grateful no city employees were hurt.

“I want to express my gratitude to the Lawrence, Kansas, Police Department work during the disturbing incident,” he said.



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IU football lands Kansas State transfer edge rusher Tobi Osunsanmi

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January 4, 2026

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IU football lands Kansas State transfer edge rusher Tobi Osunsanmi


Indiana’s portal haul continued to grow Sunday as multiple outlets reported the addition of Kansas State edge rusher Tobi Osunsanmi.

Osunsanmi has played in 36 games over the last four years and has 8.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss.  Most of that production came over the last two seasons.  He has a total of 47 QB pressures during his college career.

In 2025 he played in six games and had 20 tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks.  He suffered a season-ending injury in October.

He saw action in all 13 games in 2024 as a reserve defensive end and on special teams, recording 19 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and a forced fumble over 303 defensive snaps and 31 special teams plays.

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In 2023 he saw time in all 13 games as a reserve linebacker, a rush end on passing downs and on special teams.  He was tied for team-high honors with five tackles on kickoff coverage.

He played in four games in 2022 and preserved his redshirt.

The 6-foot-3 and 250-pound Osunsanmi has one year of eligibility remaining.

The Wichita, Kan. product (Wichita East H.S.) was regarded as the 232nd-best overall player in the nation for the Class of 2022 by 247Sports.

Osunsanmi will help fill the void left by outgoing edge rushers Mikail Kamara, Kellan Wyatt and Stephen Daley.

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More transfer portal information:

For complete coverage of IU football recruiting, GO HERE.

The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”

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Kansas football transfer portal tracker: Jan. 4 developments for KU

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2 days ago

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January 4, 2026

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Kansas football transfer portal tracker: Jan. 4 developments for KU


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LAWRENCE — The Division I transfer portal window for college football is open from Jan. 2 through Jan. 16, and that means Sunday is another chance for the Kansas football program to shape its roster.

The Jayhawks already gained one public addition earlier this offseason in Grand Valley State transfer Jibriel Conde — whose signing was announced Dec. 4. Conde, who is making the jump up from Division II, is a 247Sports-rated three-star defensive lineman in the portal and is listed by KU as a defensive tackle. On Saturday, a number of current Kansas players — including redshirt freshman quarterback Isaiah Marshall, redshirt sophomore wide receiver Keaton Kubecka and redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Blake Herold — also outlined in social media posts on X that they are locked in with the program for the 2026 season.

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Marshall is set to compete for the starting quarterback job next season. Kubecka has the chance to step up into a more significant role at wide receiver. Herold is in line to be a key part of Kansas’ defensive line.

Those positives, though, don’t outweigh the fact that there has been a sizable group of players who have revealed their intentions to transfer away. Looking overall, when it comes to those whose decisions became public before and after the portal opened, the significant names to know include redshirt senior safety Lyrik Rawls, redshirt junior linebacker Trey Lathan and freshman quarterback David McComb. Lathan led KU in tackles in 2025.

KU football roster takes hit as Trey Lathan will enter transfer portal

Check in here for more updates during this transfer portal window about a KU team that finished 5-7 during the 2025 season, with transfer ratings as outlined by 247Sports.

Kansas football transfer portal additions

Jibriel Conde (3-star defensive lineman from Grand Valley State) — KU lists him as a defensive tackle

Kansas football transfer portal departures

Joseph Sipp Jr. (linebacker)

Jacoby Davis (cornerback)

Dylan Brooks (defensive end)

Jaidyn Doss (wide receiver)

Carter Lavrusky (offensive lineman)

Trey Lathan (linebacker)

Tyler Mercer (offensive lineman)

Harry Stewart III (running back)

Caleb Redd (3-star edge) — KU lists him as a defensive end

Aundre Gibson (3-star cornerback)

David McComb (3-star quarterback)

Kene Anene (3-star interior offensive lineman) — KU lists him as an offensive lineman

Laquan Robinson (3-star safety)

Jameel Croft Jr. (3-star cornerback)

Logan Brantley (3-star linebacker)

Greydon Grimes (3-star offensive tackle) — KU lists him as an offensive lineman

Jon Jon Kamara (3-star linebacker)

Lyrik Rawls (3-star safety)

Damani Maxson (3-star safety)

Jaden Hamm (tight end)

Bryce Cohoon (wide receiver)

JaCorey Stewart (linebacker)

Johnny Thompson Jr. (running back)

Efren Jasso (punter)

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He was the 2022 National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

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