3 Underrated Heroes from Chiefs' Week 7 Win vs. Chargers

Plenty of Chiefs players deserve credit for the team's most impressive performance of the season, a 31-17 win over a Chargers team that's given Kansas City all it can handle the last few years.

We know that Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce had spectacular days, but they're not the only Chiefs that turned in excellent efforts.

Let's take a look at three underrated Chiefs heroes from the Week 7 victory that effectively helped Kansas City seal an eighth consecutive AFC West title.

3 Underrated Chiefs Heroes from Week 7 vs. Chargers

1. Marquez Valdes-Scantling

That's what we like to see!

I wrote that Valdes-Scantling was fighting for his job and boy, oh boy, did he deliver. The speedster hauled in three passes for 84 yards and the game's opening TD, surpassing his receiving total in the five previous games combined.

This was a massive step forward for the struggling Valdes-Scantling, who had only three catches since Week 2. Forcing defenses to respect deep shots is a vital component of what makes this offense click, so seeing that connection early was terrific.

If Valdes-Scantling rebounds from a brutal start to the season, the ceiling for Kansas City's offense returns to the absurd level we've seen throughout Mahomes' career.

He's now got 200 receiving yards through seven games. With a gauntlet of opponents waiting in future weeks like the Dolphins, Bills and Eagles, the Chiefs need Valdes-Scantling to return to the form that saw him get 687 yards last year.

Valdes-Scantling has a long way to go, but this was a great step in the right direction.

This next Chiefs hero made his season debut in absolutely dominant fashion.

2. Charles Omenihu

While we expected a sizable impact from the Omenihu, I don't think even the most ardent Chiefs fan saw THAT kind of performance coming in just his first game with the team.

In 51% of the snaps, the fifth-year defensive end recorded a sack, a deflected pass and two QB hits, routinely beating his man and causing havoc in the backfield.

Omenihu wasted no time making his presence felt. After serving a six-game suspension for domestic violence, the former 49er didn't miss a beat.

The Chiefs already finished second in the NFL in sacks last year and were destroying opponents up front. Adding Omenihu to the mix raises the ceiling of an already-elite defense and we saw that on full display in Week 7.

With a pressure rate of 23.5% in the win, Omenihu joins Chris Jones and George Karlaftis as lethal pass rushers who can flip any game at any moment.

The Chiefs defense currently allows the second-fewest points per game in the league (15.0). Given the unfortunate injury status of Nick Bolton, the rest of the unit needs to step up in future weeks to maintain that fantastic mark.

If Omenihu's debut was any indication, we're going to be just fine.

The last player on this list was welcomed back with open arms and delivered in spectacular fashion.

3. Mecole Hardman

Back like he never left!

The Chiefs brought Mecole back on Wednesday of last week and by Sunday he was out there making two of the biggest plays of the game. After catching only one pass through six weeks with the Jets, it's a testament to Hardman's work ethic that he was able to make an impact so quickly.

His punt return is getting the notoriety and deservedly so, but his third-down conversion later in that drive to keep the Chiefs' momentum going was just as important.

Hardman is a significant weapon in the red zone and one of Mahomes' most trusted targets. I believe he was brought in largely to help alleviate Kansas City's red zone woes, so it was poetic to see him make a critical catch on a third down in the red zone to help the Chiefs score the game's final TD.

Going into Week 7, the Chiefs scored TDs on only 54.17% of their red zone possessions (17th in NFL). Kansas City found the end zone in three of four possessions inside the Chargers' 20-yard line on Sunday, notching a field goal on the other, and that efficiency was the difference in the game.

We'll see how Andy Reid and Matt Nagy utilize Hardman moving forward, though it seems at the least he's locked into a return role. Nonetheless, it was a heroic 2023 Chiefs debut for Hardman and bodes well for the rest of the season.

Want to bet on the Chiefs in Week 8 vs. the Broncos? BetMGM is giving new users who wager $10 or more on any Chiefs bet an INSTANT $200 bonus! Sign up here, then bet at least $10 and you'll immediately receive $200 in bonus bets regardless of your wager's outcome. It's truly that easy. Join the party and sign up for BetMGM now!

More Kansas City Chiefs News: