The Kansas City Chiefs got back into the win column on Sunday, defeating the New England Patriots 27-17, avoiding what would’ve been a three-consecutive loss. It wasn’t a perfect game by either side of the football for Kansas City, which made the the Patriots appear like a plausible threat early on. Luckily, as the contest continued, the Pats looked more like the three-win team they are, and the Chiefs made plays that a championship-caliber club typically does.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes finished the matchup, completing 27/37 of his passes for 307 yards, with two touchdowns and two picks. Rookie wide receiver Rashee Rice also had a big game, catching nine passes for 91 yards and a touchdown, passing Dwayne Bowe for the single-season record for most receiving scores by a rookie receiver in Chiefs franchise history.
The game began with both clubs whiffing on field goal attempts to remain scoreless until 1:34 in the first quarter when head coach Andy Reid dove deep into his book of tricks and called a play that the league hadn’t seen since the late 20s. Running back Jerick McKinnon took a direct snap and pitched it to Rashee Rice for the four-yard score to put the Chiefs ahead 7-0.
Three possessions later, with 11:32 in the second quarter, New England converted a 3rd and 12 from their 37-yard-line with a 15-yard connection from quarterback Baily Zappe to receiver Hunter Henry to move the chains to Kansas City’s side of the field at the 48. Three plays later, Zappe converted another 3rd down with a 19-yard gain to DeVante Parker, which set up the Patriot offense at the KC 24-yard line.
Four plays later, New England cashed in on 4th and two as Zappe zipped a deep pass to Henry in the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown to tie the game at seven with 7:14 left in the first half.
Ready to match New England’s score, Mahomes attempted to move his offense down the field by zipping a pass to tight end Blake Bell, but the ball got ripped out of the veteran’s hands and intercepted by linebacker Marte Mapu, who raced the opposite direction for a 20-yard gain before getting pushed out of bounds at the Chiefs’ eight-yard-line. Five plays later, New England had to settle for a field to take a 10-7 lead.
On their next possession with 3:22 left in the first half, Patrick Mahomes converts on 3rd and three by connecting with Justin Watson for a 31-yard gain to the New England 42-yard-line. Three plays later, Mahomes hooked up with Rashee Rice for a 20-yard reception to move the offense up to the 21.
After a two-yard run by running back Jerick McKinnon, Mahomes looked Rice’s way again for a seven-yard connection to the 19. Three plays later, at the Patriot eight-yard-line, Mahomes threw a short pass in the flat to McKinnon, who scoots the rest of the way for an eight-yard touchdown to bring the Chiefs back in front on the scoreboard as the half expired.
After Kansas City settled for a 29-yard field goal, New England made a costly turnover on the second play of their first possession in the second half. Zappe zipped a pass while under pressure from Chiefs defenders gaining on him and threw an interception into the arms of linebacker Willie Gay, who returned the pick 20 yards up to the seven-yard-line.
On second and six, Mahomes threw a pass for running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who elevated to make the catch and score the touchdown. After forcing New England to punt, Kansas City cashed in on a 56-yard field goal after six plays of offense. Both teams traded possessions for the rest of the third quarter.
With 9:33 in the fourth quarter, Mahomes threw his second interception by attempting a pass to a wide-open Kadarius Toney. However, the ball bounced off the receiver’s hands and was picked off by linebacker Jahlani Tavai, who raced four yards before fumbling the ball out of bounds at the Kansas City 29-yard line.
After connecting with Demario Douglas on an 11-yard pass play, Zappe handed the ball off to running back Kevin Harris, who 18 yards up the gut for a touchdown. The Patriots turned the ball over on downs on their final two possessions as the quarter expired, and Kansas City took home a 27-17 victory to improve to 9-5 on the season.
