On a day, when Kansas City Chiefs Quarterback, Patrick Mahomes tweaked his ankle, and his best friend, Travis Kelce did the same thing later in the first half, even most die-hard fans had to feel the Minnesota Vikings were going to win the football game. Yet the dynamic duo played pitch and catch on the game-winning drive in the third quarter, which pushed the Chiefs record to 4-1.
At times, the Kansas City Chiefs struggled offensively in the first half. Further, they also increased their league-leading drop totals with more miscues that are becoming a cause of concern. Making things worse when both Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce were limping with ankle injuries, KC’s 27-20 victory was in doubt until Mike Danna sacked Minnesota Vikings Quarterback, Kirk Cousins on the last snap of the game.
To compensate the Chiefs defense made two huge fourth-quarter stops by aggressively collapsing the pocket on Cousins. This came after failing to blitz when the Vikings faced a fourth and seven down fourteen points. The soft coverage and lack of pressure on that play proved to be key as the Vikings closed the gap 27-20.
Still, the defense did what it had to do, and they put enough pressure on Cousins to create enough confusion that caused bad throws and an untimely delay of game penalty when they needed to be perfect offensively. Further, even though the Chiefs shut down Wide Receiver, Justin Jefferson to three catches and 28 yards before he left the game in the fourth quarter with a hamstring injury, the secondary overall played to their shutdown abilities, when the game was on the line.
Offensively, we saw the good and bad of Chiefs Wide Receiver, Justyn Ross, with a couple of big catches, but he also dropped a pair of first-down opportunities. Rashee Rice found the end zone again in the first half, and he also made a key catch to extend the Chiefs drive late in the game.
Overall, this was a big win for the Chiefs because they remain atop the AFC standings. As a bonus, both the Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills, two key AFC contenders, lost as well. The Vikings did their best in this game, and if I were to be honest, probably played their best overall game of the season.
Cousins had the Chiefs number in the second and fourth quarter, but KC’s defense kept sawing wood. The unit probably bent more than it had in any game this season, partly because some of the coverage assignments by the Chiefs secondary were not well executed which gave the Vikings more chances than they probably deserved.
Still, the Vikings had their chances, but Mahomes who came out on fire in the second half with the game tied at 13-13, made the play of the game when he hit Wide Receiver, Justin Watson on a 33-yard third-down throw that he took away from the Vikings defender. After that play, Mahomes led two scoring drives and held a fourteen-point lead until the Vikings scored midway through the fourth quarter to draw within seven points.
Though the Chiefs probably weren’t in any real danger on the last possession of the game to lose, this was a huge win, nonetheless. For two straight weeks on the road, the Chiefs took the best shots of their opponents and simply made more plays than the Vikings or Jets to improve to 4-1 on the season.
The bad news about the win and with injuries to Kelce, Mike Danna, Drew Tranquill, who all went back into the game, and Nick Bolton, who did not suit up Sunday in Minnesota, the Chiefs have a short week hosting the Broncos Thursday Night at Arrowhead.
