With Eddie Royal and Robert Meachem inactive for Thursday night’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs with hamstring injuries, the San Diego Chargers were desperate for someone in their receiving corps to step up.

Danario Alexander answered the call.

Alexander, who agreed to terms with the Chargers on Oct. 18, finished the game with three receptions for a team-high 61 yards.

“It means a lot,” Alexander said of stepping in after two weeks and making an impact. “It shows the hard work that I’ve put in. I put in a lot of work with Coach (Charlie) Joyner, just getting the playbook and make sure I’m on the same page as Philip (Rivers) and the rest of the offense. It’s just gratifying for me to come out here an be productive.”

His impact was most felt most during San Diego’s second scoring drive, when he had two receptions for 11 and 30 yards, respectively. Alexander’s 30-yard reception came on a third-and-two to extend the drive, which would result in a Nick Novak 25-yard field goal to give the Chargers a 10-0 lead. He would add another 20-yard reception in the third quarter.

“It was pretty exciting,” Alexander said of taking the field during pregame introductions. “Coach told me I was going to start and it was good running out of the tunnel when they introduced my name. It was kind of a surreal moment because I was out of football for a little bit.”

Rivers came away impressed by the young receiver.

“He was great,” he said. “Danario was big and he was great.  He had a third down slant way down there inside the ten, then a couple more end routs, an out route that got us going.  He was good, he was comfortable.  It’s just amazing that these guys have been here a short period of time, yet they’re comfortable in the game.  There’s never a lot of chaos.”

The receptions were Alexander’s first of the 2012 season. Alexander spent the previous two seasons with the St. Louis Rams.