Peters snags two INTs in return from suspension

Dec 17, 2017 - 7:39 AM KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters returned to the lineup Saturday after a one-game suspension handed down by Kansas City head coach Andy Reid, and he did so in spectacular fashion during the team's 30-13 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

Peters picked off two passes and played a key role in another turnover, making the initial hit in a play that wound up with a fumble. He also recorded three tackles.

Reid was not surprised by Peters' big game.

"He had the suspension and then he came back," Reid said. "He was great all week and he was great today. That's it."

The suspension was for incidents that occurred during and after the Dec. 3 game against the New York Jets. Peters drew an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty, threw a penalty flag into the stands and left the field with the game still going, mistakenly thinking he was ejected.

Reid does not believe the team's punishment lit a fire under the Pro Bowl cornerback for the Chargers game.

"That's how he plays the game," Reid said. "He's always aggressive in his play, so this was not different that way. I don't think he was out trying to prove anything. He doesn't have to."

Chiefs safety Ron Parker said Peters' first interception occurred when he peeled off the receiver he was covering to support Parker.

"It was a good week for him," Parker said. "He came back to work, came in to practice every day, worked hard. He didn't do nothing. He was just being Marcus, he came back and been himself. That's what we was looking forward to, for him to just come back and be himself. We don't want nothing to change."

Kansas City quarterback Alex Smith added, "He's got amazing ability, he's got such great eyes, such great feel for the game. And then just a heck of a competitor."

--The Chargers (7-7) rallied from an 0-4 start to the season to pull into a tie with the Chiefs for the AFC West lead last week. Los Angeles' Saturday night loss, however, puts Kansas City (8-6) in a commanding lead with just two games remaining.

"I think that's the hardest part of it is that while it's not necessarily over yet, now you're not in control," Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers said. "You've got to make sure you take care of the next couple, but then you need all kind of things to happen. That is the toughest part is to claw your way right here and actually taste it again a little bit, and then not play very well."

Head coach Anthony Lynn said the Chargers' sluggish start put them in a must-win situation early in the season, and that remains the same now.

"We can win out, but we're probably going to need some help," Lynn said. "All that we can control is these next weeks."

--A series of injuries decimated the Chargers on both sides of the ball with more than a half dozen players leaving the game at some point, including starting offensive tackles Russell Okung and Joe Barksdale.

"It didn't help the second half," Lynn said of the injuries. "But injuries are a part of the game. You can never use that as an excuse, but it certainly didn't help when we lost both tackles."

Losing inside linebacker Denzel Perryman completely altered the Chargers' defensive scheme.

"You lose your downhill linebacker and you probably have to start playing more nickel in certain situations with Denzel out of the game," Lynn said. "We were lighter in the box sometimes when they were big."

Lynn hopes none of the injuries prove serious.

"We evaluate these guys if they see the doctors today, and tomorrow we will see where are at," Lynn said.

--Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt ran for 155 yards against the Chargers. His 1,201 rushing yards eclipse the franchise record for a rookie set by Joe Delaney in 1981 with 1,121 yards.

"It's a great feeling," Hunt said about reaching the record. "I just like winning, and that is the biggest thing. It was a great team win today."

Delaney died tragically during the summer following his second NFL season at the age of 24. He attempted to rescue three children who floundered in a two-acre water hole left by construction work. Delaney and two of the three children perished by drowning. The team added Delaney's name to the ring of honor inside Arrowhead Stadium in 2004.