The Sports Xchange

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Although the Kansas City Chiefs carry a four-game losing streak and are four games behind the AFC West leading Denver Broncos, head coach head coach Andy Reid says his confidence in his team has not been shaken.

“I know we’ve got good talent here and I know we have good coaches,” Reid said a day after his team’s 18-17 loss to Chicago. “We need to get over this hump and work our way through this. There’s got to be a sense of urgency that takes place to get that done. And I trust that we’ll get that part done.”

Has Reid seen a lack of urgency from his underperforming squad?

“I think it can be better,” Reid said. “We all need to pick it up. You have to raise the level and you have to do it right now, right now. That’s how it works when you’re 1-4.”

The players seem to understand they needed a heightened sense of urgency.

“You have to fight,” said wide receiver Jeremy Maclin. “We have to fight our jobs, we have to fight as a team together.”

–Like many of his teammates, quarterback Alex Smith struggled to be productive in Sunday’s loss to Chicago. That was especially visible in his 16 of 30 passing game against the Bears. That 53.3-yard passing percentage is 10 points lower than his season-long average of 63 percent.

When asked if there was any reason for Smith’s unusually inaccurate performance, head coach Andy Reid provided a cryptic answer. “No, I mean there’s no injury if that’s what you’re looking for or any of that,” Reid said Monday. “That’s not what it is, no.”

But obviously there was a problem with Smith and the passing game. Losing Jamaal Charles in the third quarter did not help matters, but Smith was not sharp when throwing the ball.

“He’s done some good things,” Reid said. “Are there some things he needs to get better at? Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely and again, he’ll do that. He’s going to keep working.”

–Running back Knile Davis appears to have been operating in the shadows of the Chiefs offense through the first five games of the season.

After being the solid No. 2 back behind Jamaal Charles the past two seasons, Davis has only 12 touches this season for 39 yards. In the opener against Houston, he saw 18 offensive snaps. Combined in the last four games he has 12 snaps.

Meanwhile, running back Charcandrick West appears to be the first in line to pick most of the snaps that belonged to Charles. The 5-10, 205-pound native of Texas signed with the Chiefs in 2014 as an undrafted rookie out of Abilene Christian.

West spent most of the season on K.C.’s practice squad, but earned a spot on the 53-man roster coming out of this year’s training camp. A Louisiana native, West played 39 games at Abilene Christian, picking up 3,105 offensive yards and 35 touchdowns.

Notes: ILB Josh Mauga (groin) was inactive against Chicago and was replaced by rookie Ramik Wilson. … WR Albert Wilson (shoulder) was inactive against Chicago. He sustained the right shoulder sprain during the preseason and has been limited participation since then. The game against the Bears was the second straight inactive Sunday for Wilson.