Upset Alert: Kansas City Chiefs, St. Louis Rams Bucking the Odds at Halftime

There's still a lot of football to be played this afternoon, but so far it's a great day to be a fan in Missouri.

Last year, the Kansas City Chiefs and St. Louis Rams combined for five wins on the season. With more than half the season left to play, they're working hard to tack up numbers six and seven.

Facing a pair of preseason playoff hopefuls, the underdog Rams and Chiefs are both putting on spectacular performances and dragging themselves out of the NFL cellar.

Kansas City has been, to date, this year's "rags to riches" team, breaking out with a 3-0 start before losing a close game to the Indianapolis Colts. Coming into today's game with the Houston Texans, Kansas City holds the only winning record in the AFC West.

But the Chiefs are facing a much-improved Texans team that have started to capitalize on the stellar talent on their roster.  With playmakers on both offense and defense, Houston has looked like they're ready to turn the corner.

That hasn't been the case in Houston today, where Kansas City converted two fourth-down attempts on their opening drive, and has allowed Kansas City to gouge yards both on the ground and in the air.  Much-maligned Matt Cassel ended the half with a 132.6 quarterback rating, passing for both of Kansas City's touchdowns. And on defense, cornerback Brandon Flowers has been all over the field, making tackles and breaking up passes on seemingly every play.

The Rams, meanwhile, finished dead first in last year's NFL Draft. They've come into this season putting top draft pick Sam Bradford to the test, asking him to start in his rookie season and prove he has the skills to succeed in the NFL.

Bradford has responded by leading the Rams to a 2-3 record, and they are well on their way to putting up their third win today.

The San Diego Chargers have been notorious for slow starts, but none quite as slow as this year. Having already chalked up losses to Kansas City and the equally moribund Oakland Raiders, the Chargers have been victimized by St. Louis and were in danger of a complete shutout until kicking a field goal in the third quarter.

While St. Louis' numbers have been respectable on offense, it's their defense that has come up big today. Philip Rivers has yet to surpass 100 yards passing, Antonio Gates has only made two receptions, and their rushing game has been limited to a feeble 33 yards.

San Diego almost scored on a deep pass in the second quarter, but instead threw the only interception of the game as the ball was snatched away by St. Louis safety O.J. Atogwe.

With the Chiefs up 14-7 and the Rams 17-0 at halftime, things are looking very bright in Missouri today. Together, they're doing a lot to wash away the bad taste of last year's season.

And it's certainly working.