Week 14 Report: Jamaal Charles Held to Lowest Outing of the Year

Jamaal Charles called his performance “embarrassing” after carrying the ball just 10 times for 40 yards and catching 2 passes for 9 yards on Sunday, his fewest carries and yards all season.

“It was an embarrassing day for me,” Charles told the Kansas City Star. “I signed the contract, and then I didn’t come through for the people I’m supposed to come through for. It was embarrassing. I didn’t do (well) enough.”

Charles, who came into the game 3rd in the league in rushing, just signed a 5-year, $32 million contract extension ($13 million guaranteed) earlier in the week.

JC’s performances mirrored that of the entire Kansas City offense, as the Chiefs generated just 67 total yards of offense in a shutout loss.

Teammate Derrick Johnson led the team with 9 tackles and continues to lead the Chiefs in that category on the season.

Fellow RB Cedric Benson didn’t fair much better, rushing for just 19 yards off 8 carries and adding 3 catches for 26 yards against Pittsburgh, who hasn’t allowed a 100-yard rusher all season. Like JC, Benson’s yardage was also his lowest of the year.

Continuing this trend of quiet performances over the weekend, none of the WRs had very productive games. Roy Williams caught just 2 passes for 23 yards and hasn’t had a TD since Week 6.

Jordan Shipley was limited to just 3 receptions for 26 yards and has had just 12 catches for 89 yards in the past 3 weeks.

David Thomas caught only 1 pass for 4 yards and hasn’t had more than 2 catches in a game since Week 9. Thomas hasn’t played a big role for New Orleans all season.

However, fellow TE Bo Scaife had a big day, catching 4 passes for 20 yards but 2 TDs in the 4th quarter. The first TD came off a 4-yard pass and second TD came off a 2-yard reception (video).

The defense fared better than the offense this week.

Roy Miller had 5 tackles, his 2nd most of the year, and Lamarr Houston tallied 4 tackles in a dominating performance.

Michael Griffin, Michael Huff, and Cory Redding all recorded 5 tackles, with Redding also adding a sack.

Brian Orakpo had just 2 tackles but played a “big role” in a loss, when Tampa Bay clearly held Orakpo on the only TD, which helped the Bucs defeat Orakpo’s Redskins.

Other Noteworthy Performances

Ricky Williams – 10 carries for 34 yards
Quentin Jammer – 1 tackle
Shaun Rogers – 2 tackles
Henry Melton – 1 tackle
Tim Crowder – 3 tackles
Tarell Brown – 4 tackles
Casey Hampton – 3 tackles
Aaron Ross – 4 tackles