Two touchdowns from Jamaal Charles have put the Kansas City Chiefs in control of their match against the Arizona Cardinals.

The Cardinals got off to a good start in the game as they went ahead through the boot of kicker Chandler Catanzaro, who fired a 44-yard field goal over after Drew Stanton and running back Stepfan Taylor had driven the home side into range.

Kansas City responded on their first possession of the game when Alex Smith handed the ball off to Charles, who found a crease in the defense and sprinted all the way to the endzone untouched for a 63-yard score.

Arizona came back with a solid drive to move deep into Chiefs' territory, but they were held out of the endzone as Catanzaro was forced into action again with a 33-yard field goal to bring his side within a point.

The Chiefs managed to extend their advantage as they converted on third and 15 when Smith fired to Dwayne Bowe, who broke two tackles and hurdled a defender to get the first down.

One play later, Smith threw to Charles, who weaved his way through two tackles to coast into the endzone.

Stanton had the chance to bring his side back into the game late in the half, but he and his offense were once again held out of the endzone. Catanzaro then compounded their woes as he missed the resulting field goal.