Jamaal Charles owns rancid performance

Rarely will Jamaal Charles ever take heat on Arrowhead Addict or anywhere else that involves talking about the Kansas City Chiefs. It will be even more rare after a game in which he rushed for over 100 yards and scored an electrifying touchdown. Unfortunately, tonight is one of those times.

Charles coughed the ball up twice and ultimately, along with head coach Andy Reid and his brilliant play-calling, cost the Chiefs a great chance to take the upper hand in the AFC West. On the first possession, Charles caught a pass inside Denver’s 5-yard line and tried to juke a pair of defenders before fumbling the ball away.

Then, even more ridiculously, Charles carried the ball with under 30 seconds remaining in a 24-24 game and fumbled … again … only to watch Broncos cornerback Bradley Roby scoop up the ball and run in for the winning score. It was one of the worst losses a team has suffered in recent memory, and Charles is taking all the blame like a true class act, per Joel Thorman of Arrowhead Pride.

This is just an insanely bad loss. For once, Kansas City showed it can play with Denver. This was not one of those games where the Chiefs held on by their fingernails just to stay close. Instead, the defense dominated, only to watch the offense and coaching staff lose the game with five ridiculous turnovers and consistent penalties.

At some point, the Chiefs need to take the next step and become a real contender. They are not at that point somehow, despite an incredible amount of talent. Good teams do not lose games like this, let alone great ones. This is going to be brutal to get over, especially with 10 days to think about it.