Here are four areas that stood out in Chiefs' win over Colts
Chiefs get back on track after snapping two-game losing streak
The Chiefs needed overtime in Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
Kicker Harrison Butker used the extra period to drill a game-winning 27-yard field goal to give the Chiefs a 23-20 win, which snapped a two-game losing streak and improved the Chiefs to 6-5.
Was it pretty?
Not really, but sometimes teams need to a win like this against a tough opponent to get over the hump.
And Sunday’s win could arguably be the Chiefs’ signature win against a Colts team that once led the game 20-9 before the Chiefs roared back in the fourth quarter.
The matchup featured quarterback Patrick Mahomes doing Mahomes things, which saw him complete 29-of-46 passes for 352 yards.
While he threw an interception with no touchdowns, Mahomes came up big with explosive plays, which saw a 47-yard completion to wide receiver Rashee Rice, a 31-yard completion to wide receiver Xavier Worthy, and a 19-yard completion to Rice on a fourth-down play.
The story of the game, though, fell on defense while the Chiefs offense took time to get going.
With the Chiefs holding the Colts in check, Mahomes and Co. eventually fired on all cylinders when it mattered en route to totaling 33 first downs, 494 yards on offense and dominating the time of possession by a wide margin, 42:35-25:28.
Here are four areas that stood out:
STELLAR DEFENSE
The Chiefs squared off against the NFL’s No. 1 offense and rose to the occasion.
The Colts entered the weekend averaging 32.1 points per game, 396.9 total yards and 6.41 yards per play.
Kansas City made sure the Colts wouldn’t reach those numbers by limiting the Colts to 20 points, 255 total yards and 5.1 yards per play.
The Colts also boasted the NFL’s top running back, as Jonathan Taylor entered the game with 1,139 yards rushing with 15 touchdowns, while averaging a healthy 6.0 yards per attempt.
Taylor’s numbers will take a hit after he finished the game with 58 yards on 16 carries, averaging 3.6 yards per carry.
He helped his bottom line with a 27-yard run in the third quarter, but remove the play and he would’ve had just 31 yards on 15 carries (2.06 average per attempt).
“I think our front played really well today,” Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton told KC Sports Network after the game on stopping Taylor. “We talked all week about getting four, five hats on the ball, getting a lot of people to the ball, cutting down his legs.”
What the Chiefs’ defense did against Taylor and Colts quarterback Daniel Jones was impressive to behold.
So much so that even tight end Travis Kelce gave the unit a shoutout.
“Man, our defense is playing their tail off right now,” Kelce said in the locker room.
BUTKER REDEMPTION
It wasn’t that long ago when there was concern over Butker after his shaky start to the season.
But the veteran placekicker showed Sunday why he’s still one of the NFL’s top kickers.
Butker was a perfect 5-of-5 on his field goal attempts, which included a 25-yard effort to send the game to overtime and, of course, his 27-yard game winner.
With the Chiefs’ offense struggling to get the ball in the end zone, Butker came through with his fifth career five-field goal game.
“It’s hard to say what has led to my success, probably just sticking to my routine and not getting too down on myself with the misses,” Butker explained after the game. “I think making every kick the same and being calm, relaxed, has really helped me these last couple of weeks, but thankful the ball has been going in.”
DOUBLE TROUBLE
The Chiefs unleashed a balanced attack on Sunday, a week after throwing the football 45 times compared to just 14 rush attempts.
Mahomes threw the ball 46 times, while the Chiefs, as a team, totaled 41 running plays.
Kareem Hunt paced the ground game with 30 carries, which was a career-high figure, for 104 yards and a touchdown, averaging 3.5 yards per attempt. Twenty-six of the yards rushing came during overtime. He added three catches for 26 yards, giving him 130 total yards.
Hunt turned in the Chiefs’ first 100-yard rushing game this season.
The Chiefs also had their first 100-yard receiver this season.
Rice was all over the field recording big catches, recording three explosive plays of 20-plus yards, which included a 42-yard gain and a 47-yard gain. Rice also hauled in a 2-point conversion.
The wide receiver finished the contest with eight receptions for 141 yards on 12 targets.
MAKING UP GROUND
The Chiefs will continue to approach a game week-by-week, but there is a playoff hunt going on in the AFC.
Kansas City is chasing the Buffalo Bills (7-4), Los Angeles Chargers (7-4 – bye week) and Jacksonville Jaguars (7-4), with six games to go in the regular season.
The Bills did the Chiefs a favor by losing on Thursday Night Football, but the Jaguars squeezed out a win on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.
Nevertheless, the Chiefs pulled within a game of the trio after Sunday’s win.
“We’re going to keep fighting,” Chiefs defensive end Mike Danna told KC Sports Network after the game. “Whoever is up next, whoever is the opponent, we’re going to keep fighting. We’re not going to lay down for anybody.”
