By Jesse Newell and David Carrillo Peñaloza
To be fair, the Kansas City Chiefs opened the season with two losses to teams that are undefeated and considered Super Bowl contenders.
On Sunday night, they finally got a break by playing the winless New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Even so, the Chiefs struggled before winning their first game 22-9, avoiding their first 0-3 start since 2011.
Back then, Romeo Crennel was the head coach. Two years later, Andy Reid took over in Kansas City. Since then, the Chiefs have made the playoffs in 11 of the past 12 seasons, reaching the Super Bowl five times and winning three.
No team has reached the Super Bowl after starting 0-3. However, three teams — the 1993 Dallas Cowboys, 2001 New England Patriots and 2007 Giants — rebounded from 0-2 starts to win it all.
Still, the Chiefs hardly looked like a championship-caliber team in the first half Sunday, seven months after losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX. And Travis Kelce and Reid were jawing at each other again.
Patrick Mahomes was 22-of-37 passing for 224 yards and a touchdown. The first TD pass came on the second half’s first drive, a 5-yarder to Tyquan Thornton that gave Kansas City a 16-6 lead.
The two hooked up on a 33-yard pass that set up Kareem Hunt’s 1-yard TD run in the fourth quarter and put the game away. Thornton, who finished with five receptions for 71 yards, stepped up with Xavier Worthy (shoulder injury) and Rashee Rice (suspension) out.
The offense sputtered in the first half. Harrison Butker, who connected on his first two field goals, missed his third try, a 40-yarder. That’s when Reid bumped Kelce, who had four catches for 26 yards, while arguing on the sideline.
With under two minutes left in the first half, the defense allowed a 13-yard touchdown run to Cam Skattebo. The score remained tied at 6, thanks to Ashton Gillotte blocking Jamie Gillan’s extra-point kick. Gillan, New York’s punter, was pressed into duty because kicker Graham Gano was ruled questionable with a groin injury before the game.
Late in the first half, Jaylen Watson intercepted a Russell Wilson pass intended for Malik Nabers in the end zone. The secondary held Nabers to two catches for 13 yards and intercepted Wilson twice.
Here are some key takeaways from the game.
A season-altering drive
Earlier in the week, Mahomes said he’d be interested to see how his team would respond to the adversity of an 0-2 start.
Turns out, the Chiefs needed to raise the level of difficulty before coming through on their best possession of the year.
Though Kansas City appeared to be on the verge of disarray following a first half with numerous penalties and an episode of Reid bumping Kelce on the sideline, Mahomes brought the team some much-needed stability out of the halftime break with a signature drive.
Kansas City went 74 yards on 11 plays, mixing creativity in the run game with some third-down precision. That included the final dagger, as Mahomes looked off a pass to Kelce before zipping a 5-yard touchdown pass to Thornton in the back of the end zone.
The critical sequence rebuilt the Chiefs’ lead to 16-6 and kept the season from potentially teetering in an unfortunate direction during a particularly tumultuous moment. — Jesse Newell, Chiefs beat writer
Defensive strength emerges
The Chiefs’ secondary was awful in Week 1 against the Los Angeles Chargers, then dominant the following week in a matchup with the Eagles.
So what happened in Week 3?
Perhaps the best early-season development for the Chiefs.
Kansas City once again received a standout effort from its back-end players, led by Watson and Chris Roland-Wallace, who each had interceptions — the team’s first two takeaways of the year.
Those two weren’t the only ones who played well, though.
Safety Bryan Cook flashed often before leaving the game with a late neck injury, and Chamarri Conner also continued to show improvement after a rough opening week. — Newell
Mahomes gets some help
With Rice and Worthy still out, the Chiefs’ biggest question heading into the week remained: Who was best equipped to help out Mahomes as an offensive threat?
The Chiefs might’ve gotten their answer after the speedy Thornton saved them late.
Leading by 7, Kansas City faced a third-and-10 late that presented a tricky situation, given Butker’s struggles this season.
Mahomes — with help — bailed the Chiefs out of that situation by throwing across his body to his new top target.
Somehow, Thornton was able to come down with a 33-yard contested reception just in front of the end zone. NFL Next Gen Stats, in fact, said the pass was brought in despite a 15.7 percent completion probability.
And though the Chiefs couldn’t have known it at the time, their ability to woo Thornton — a 2022 New England Patriots second-round pick — to their practice squad late last year ended up being one of their top personnel moves for the ensuing season. — Newell
(Photo of Kareem Hunt celebrating after his 1-yard TD run: Vincent Carchietta / Imagn Images)
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