Big plays highlight back-and-forth half between Chiefs, Rams at L.A. Coliseum

Here are some observations from the first half of the Chiefs’ game against the Los Angeles Rams, a showdown many believe could be a Super Bowl preview. It was tied 23-all at the break.

1. Scandrick struggles

Chiefs cornerback Orlando Scandrick got off to a rough start Monday night when he picked up a pass interference flag on the second play of the game. It didn’t get much better from there. He was responsible for covering both the Rams’ first two touchdowns. The Chiefs’ secondary struggled as a whole in the first half with the Rams’ formidible air attack. Brandin Cooks racked up 63 yards on four receptions for L.A.

2. Hill hits milestones

When he caught Patrick Mahomes’ pass in the first quarter, Tyreek Hill became the third fastest-player in Chiefs history to rack up 10 receiving touchdowns in a season.

Hill was a difficult matchup for the Rams, and they virtually had no answer for him in the opening two quarters. He finished the half with 102 yards on six catches. He is seven yards away from 1,000 with a half of football remaining tonight.

3. Challenge: accepted

Chiefs coach Andy Reid threw his challenge fan in the second quarter when Eric Murray was flagged for pass interference in the end zone. Replays showed that the ball was tipped by a defender, and therefore there couldn’t be pass interference. After review, officials found that Reid was right. The call forced the Rams to settle for a field goal, their last score of the half.

4. All. The. Flags.

The Chiefs were flagged nine times in the first half, with the majority of those penalties coming against the defense.

The offense wasn’t immune, either. Cam Erving picked up a holding penalty that negated a big catch by Chris Conley a couple yards away from the goal line early in the second quarter.

5. Sack City

For all the struggles the Chiefs had on defense, back-to-back sacks from the defensive line were responsible for the biggest momentum shift in the first half.

First, Xavier Williams’ sack on second down pushed Rams quarterback Jared Goff back eight yards. Then, Allen Bailey came up with his sixth sack of the season, dropping Goff again and forcing the quarterback to lose the ball. Bailey recovered it on the Rams’ 21-yard line, and the Chiefs immediately converted the turnover into points on the next play as Mahomes hit Kareem Hunt for a 21-yard catch-and-run touchdown to take their first lead of the game.

Later in the second quarter, the Rams used a big sack to get the momentum back in their favor. Aaron Donald sacked Mahomes and knocked the ball loose. Outside linebacker Samson Ebukam scooped up the loose ball and ran it in from 11 yards out to give the Rams the lead again with 1:50 to go in the half.

The Chiefs scored to tie it before intermission. They would lead, but Harrison Butker missed the PAT.