The Kansas City Chiefs escaped their overtime battle with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with their perfect record intact, but the franchise was far more worried about preserving the health of star quarterback Patrick Mahomes on Monday night.
Early in the fourth quarter, Mahomes appeared to suffer a frightening non-contact left ankle injury while flicking a touchdown to Samaje Perine. Despite the score proving crucial in Kansas City’s eventual 30-24 win, not one Chiefs fan at Arrowhead Stadium was in a celebratory mood as they watched their MVP quarterback require the help of medical personnel to get to the sideline.
But minutes later, the home crowd released its delayed ovation as Mahomes emerged from the medical tent and jogged back onto the field to lead the Chiefs to victory. It first required a gutsy 15-play touchdown drive in the fourth, which ended with Mahomes drilling DeAndre Hopkins for a go-ahead touchdown, and later in overtime as Mahomes orchestrated a 10-play touchdown drive to propel Kansas City to an 8-0 record.
After the game, Mahomes said the injury was a rolled ankle and he plans on playing against Denver on Sunday.
“I committed to running and I saw Samaje at the last second,” Mahomes said about the play he was injured on. “It scared me a little bit. … It ended up not too bad.”
Mahomes flips it to Perine for six!
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Kansas City Chiefs remain undefeated, beat Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30-24 in OT on NFL Monday Night Football: Live updates
Mahomes wakes Chiefs’ offense at perfect time
Starting midway through the fourth quarter, the Chiefs have had three got-to-have-it drives when they needed to score a touchdown. Mahomes led the Chiefs to three touchdowns, the final one being the game winner.
In overtime, Mahomes was brilliant, completing all five of his passes to drive the Chiefs into the red zone. Running back Kareem Hunt ended the game with a walk-off, 2-yard touchdown run. — Nate Taylor, Chiefs beat writer
The scene when Mahomes returned
With 12 minutes left in regulation, the fans at Arrowhead Stadium roared when Mahomes re-entered the game. What occurred next was the most impressive drive of the season for the Chiefs, considering their circumstances. Playing through a left ankle injury he just aggravated, Mahomes and Hunt orchestrated a methodical 15-play drive in which the offense took more than eight minutes off the clock, didn’t commit a penalty and scored a touchdown to take a 24-17 lead.
Mahomes continued his excellence on third down, finding tight end Travis Kelce and receiver Justin Watson to continue the Chiefs’ drive. Hunt gained tough yards between the tackles and converted on a fourth-and-inches snap near midfield. With the Chiefs facing third-and-goal from the Buccaneers 5-yard line, Mahomes found Hopkins in a one-on-one matchup for an easy touchdown. Hopkins caught the ball after running a crisp slant route against cornerback Josh Hayes.
In his first home game as a Chief, Hopkins was excellent. He finished with eight receptions on nine targets for 86 yards and two touchdowns. — Taylor
Bucs threw everything they had at Chiefs
Without his top two receivers, Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield did just about everything coach Todd Bowles could’ve asked of him. Despite a near interception early in the first quarter, Mayfield didn’t commit a turnover and was efficient on short and intermediate passes. He finished with two touchdowns and completed 23 of his 31 attempts for 200 yards, many of which have been disrupted between a plethora of tight ends and running backs.
The lone issue for the Buccaneers is that two decisions they made late in the game prevented them from beating the Chiefs, which would’ve been their best victory of the season.
After scoring a touchdown with 27 seconds left, Bowles elected not to keep this offense on the field for a potential game-winning two-point conversion attempt. Once the game went into overtime, Mayfield showed his frustration at midfield when his decision to select tails ahead of the coin toss was not the correct call. The coin landed on heads, giving the Chiefs the ball. Mayfield was never on the field again as he watched Mahomes engineer another game-winning drive. — Taylor
Required reading
- Can the Chiefs go undefeated? Projecting Kansas City’s season record, with a nod to history
- Travis Kelce helps power Chiefs offense with blocking, too: ‘He gives us great effort’
(Photo: Jamie Squire / Getty Images)
