Chiefs’ running back Jamaal Charles ‘tender’ after loss to Arizona

Chiefs coach Andy Reid described running back Jamaal Charles as “tender” on Monday after re-aggravating knee and ankle injuries in Sunday’s 17-14 loss to Arizona.

He originally sustained a high ankle sprain in week three and bruised his knee last week against the Broncos.

Regardless, Charles played on and scored the team’s two touchdowns with 10 carries for 91 yards and two receptions for 20 yards.

“He wasn’t feeling great, but I probably still could have given him the ball a few more times in the second half,” Reid said.

Wide receiver Junior Hemingway and defensive lineman Allen Bailey still have not been cleared from concussions. Hemingway has missed two games and Bailey has missed one.

Sacks piling up against Alex Smith

The Chiefs offensive line is certainly not making life easy for quarterback Alex Smith.

Despite increased efforts to move him around in the pocket, he has been sacked 11 times in the past two games and 13 during the Chiefs’ three-game slide.

“Some of his best plays are in the pocket, so we feel comfortable doing that,” Reid said. “We need to do a little better job sometimes with protection. There were too many sacks.”

When Smith did get protection, he was efficient, completing 26 of 39 passes for 293 yards and one touchdown. He also had one interception.

Reid tight-lipped on turnover review

Reid did not reveal whether the Chiefs would ask for a review on Travis Kelce’s fourth-quarter fumble. Reid said it was too late to change anything anyways.

“The game is over so it doesn’t really matter what I think or what they thought because the game stands,” he said. “We lost the game whether they are right or wrong.”

The Chiefs had a chance to tie or win with the ball on Arizona’s 41 and 5 minutes, 31 seconds on the clock. Smith connected with Kelce for 19 yards, but the ball popped out on the ensuing tackle.

Although he was originally ruled down by contact, Arizona’s Bruce Arians won the challenge and it was ruled a catch and a fumble with a recovery by the Cardinals’ Justin Bethel.

This story was originally published December 8, 2014 at 4:21 PM with the headline "Chiefs’ running back Jamaal Charles ‘tender’ after loss to Arizona."