National Football League

Kansas City Chiefs score 34 unanswered points in rout of Rams

Published Oct. 26, 2014 4:13 p.m. ET

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Jamaal Charles proved Sunday he can score touchdowns with strength as much as speed.

The Pro Bowl running back ran for a pair of scores, Knile Davis returned a kick 99 yards for another touchdown and the Kansas City Chiefs trounced the St. Louis Rams 34-7 to earn the Governor's Cup from their cross-state rivals.

Charles, who last week became the Chiefs' career rushing leader, powered over the left side of the line for a touchdown in the first quarter. He added a 36-yard score early in the fourth, dodging a defender at the line of scrimmage and then accelerating past the Rams defense.

Cairo Santos added a pair of field goals for Kansas City (4-3), including a career-best 53-yarder right before halftime. Alex Smith was 24 of 28 for 226 yards passing, and Davis capped a run of 34 unanswered points with a short touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

The banged-up Rams (2-5) lost their sixth straight to the Chiefs dating to Sept. 25, 1994, when they were still in Los Angeles, while coach Jeff Fisher lost for the first time in five head-to-head matchups with Chiefs counterpart Andy Reid.

Austin Davis was 15 of 25 for 160 yards with a touchdown and an interception, getting sacked three times by Justin Houston and seven times total. It hardly helped that Davis lost left tackle Jake Long, right guard Rodger Saffold and center Scott Wells to injuries during the game.

The Rams were also playing with an injury-depleted defensive backfield.

Their running back-by-committee proved to be a bust, too. Benny Cunningham, Zac Stacy and Tre Mason helped St. Louis manage just 84 yards on 19 carries.

The Rams jumped out to a 7-0 lead on a touchdown pass from Davis to tight end Lance Kendricks on the opening series, but everything went the Chiefs' way the rest of the game.

Special teams had a lot to do with it.

One week after the Rams used two long returns and an audacious punt fake to beat Seattle, they watched as Greg Zuerlein missed a 38-yard field goal in the second quarter to keep the game 7-all.

Santos hit his 53-yarder for a 10-7 lead right before halftime.

The Chiefs had won the coin toss and deferred, so they got the ball back to start the third quarter. Davis fielded the kickoff on a bounce, veered to his right and picked up a key block from James-Michael Johnson before going the rest of the way for his second career TD return.

Santos added his second field-goal later in the third quarter, and Charles punctuated a big day for the Kansas City offense when he took a carry up the middle, left a defender grasping for air and then out-ran the entire Rams secondary for his second score of the game.

Davis added a 3-yard touchdown plunge in the final minutes as chants of "Let's Go Royals" filled Arrowhead Stadium. Kansas City was scheduled to play the San Francisco Giants in Game 5 of the World Series, with the first pitch scheduled for a few hours later.