The Chiefs didn’t look pretty during Sunday night’s matchup against the New York Giants.
There were plenty of penalties – eight to be exact for 85 yards – and the game was in doubt entering the fourth quarter.
But the Chiefs did enough to come away with their first win of the season after a 22-9 victory at MetLife Stadium.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed 22-of-37 passes for 224 yards and a touchdown for an 85.9 passer rating, connecting with seven different receivers.
His favorite target in the win proved to be wide receiver Tyquan Thornton, who hauled in five catches for 71 yards and a touchdown on nine targets.
With the Chiefs holding a 16-9 lead midway through the fourth quarter, Mahomes and Thornton connected on the game-changing play on a 33-yard pass to set up the Chiefs at the Giants’ 1-yard line. Running back Kareem Hunt ran it in on the next play to give the Chiefs the 22-9 lead.
Kansas City’s defense then forced the Giants to turn over the ball on downs on New York’s next two possessions to finish the game.
Here are four areas that stood out:
DEFENSE COMES UP BIG
The Chiefs defense held the Giants in check, limiting New York to 281 total yards of offense and 1-of-10 conversions of third-down attempts.
Kansas City also controlled Giants quarterback Russell Wilson by holding the veteran signal-caller to 160 yards passing on 18-of-32 attempts, and locked down wide receiver Malik Nabers, who managed just two catches for 13 yards on seven targets.
Takeaways played a big role in the defensive effort, as defensive backs Jaylen Watson and Chris Rowland-Wallace each recorded an interception.
Defensive tackle Chris Jones and defensive end George Karlaftis were disruptive forces in the Giants’ backfield.
Jones notched a sack and two quarterback hits, while Karlaftis recorded a sack and four quarterback hits.
DIFFERENT GROUND APPROACH
The Chiefs finally let their running backs be running backs.
Mahomes led the team in rushing in the past two games, but he took a back seat to Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt against the Giants.
Pacheco paced the ground game with 45 yards on 10 carries (4.5 yards per attempt), while Hunt contributed 34 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries (3.4 yards per attempt) and rookie Brashard Smith had two carries for 13 yards (6.5 yards per attempt).
Wide receiver Nikko Remigio had a carry for 11 yards.
Meanwhile, Mahomes had five carries for 2 yards, but he lost 3 yards late in the game with three consecutive kneel downs.
As a team, the Chiefs totaled 105 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries, averaging 3.8 yards per carry.
BETTER THIRD TIME AROUND
The Chiefs struggled with third-down efficiency entering Week 3, ranking 26th in the league with a 34.6% conversion rate.
Sunday night saw improvement.
The Chiefs converted 8-of-15 attempts, good for 53.3%.
While the offense still doesn’t look quite right, the ability to convert third-down opportunities kept drives alive early in the contest.
Kansas City put points on the board in their first two drives behind the strength of kicker Harrison Butker’s leg before Butker missed a 40-yard attempt on the third possession.
The Chiefs also put together two long scoring drives in the second half, converting a total of four third-down attempts on the possessions.
KICKING WOES?
Speaking of Butker, does something seem off with one of the NFL’s top reliable kickers?
In addition to his missed field goal from what is a short distance for his powerful leg, he missed an extra point.
Butker has now misfired on two extra points and two field goals through three games.
