KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs returned to practice on Monday after enjoying all of last week in a bye-week vacation from head coach Andy Reid.

“What I do is the players get a week off and coaches get a few days off and they were able to go back and do some self-scout work without any distractions where they have to worry about meetings,” said Reid. “With the players, I thought it could kind of rejuvenate guys and get them back healthy.”

Coming off a loss on October 6 to San Francisco and facing a game this Sunday against the Chargers in San Diego, might it have been more useful to have the players together and on the practice field for at least one or two sessions?

“Listen, I’ve done it this way for a long time and it’s been fairly successful,” said Reid, in his 16th season as an NFL head coach. “I think it’s good to step away whether you’re doing well or not doing well. Coming off a win or a loss I think sometimes it’s good to get away and get recharged.”

Reid’s teams are 13-2 in the game after the bye week. The Eagles won 13 in a row, before losing in 2012. Last year, the Chiefs came out of the bye week at 9-0 but then lost to the Broncos in a Monday night game in Denver.

No question get-well time was important for a team that has been fighting the injury bug over the season’s first month. Already, the Chiefs have lost 27 starts to injury and suspensions, with three starters and three major contributors already on the injured-reserve list and done for the season. That’s a minimum of 44 more starts that will be missed by the end of the season.

As for the self-scout done by Chiefs coaches, with all the technology available and all the bodies on Reid’s staff with the Chiefs (one of the NFL’s largest), is there really anything the head coach can learn that he didn’t already know?

“What you’re able to do is put it all together and go back and look at it on tape instead of just evaluating on paper,” Reid said. “You go back and look at every inch of it on tape and you come out with some things. I mean you come out and you say, ‘Hey, we can do better right here, maybe we need to run this a little bit more,’ whether it’s offensively or defensively.

“That’s that type of evaluation that you go through.”

Ahead on the schedule after San Diego (5-1) are games against St. Louis (1-3 going into Monday night game against San Francisco), the New York Jets (1-5) and Buffalo (3-3), before hosting Seattle (3-2) at Arrowhead Stadium on November 16.

The Chiefs’ time for rest is over, starting this Sunday against the Chargers.

Notes: Strong safety Eric Berry was on the practice field with the Chiefs on Monday after being sidelined by a sprained ankle in the first half of the game on September 14 against the Broncos. . . Cornerback Chris Owens (knee contusion) is unlikely to play this week. . . . Running back Cyrus Gray (fractured hand) is expected to practice. . . . Cornerback Phillip Gaines (concussion) is cleared to practice. . . Linebacker Joe Mays (wrist surgery) can begin practicing as the team’s designated player to return from the injured-reserve list, but Reid indicated the player is not physically ready.