In so many games last season, the Kansas City Chiefs had to battle to get wins. On Sunday Night against the New York Giants, they did just that and left the big apple with their first win of the season, 22-9.
With as much pressure as I’ve seen on a Kansas City Chiefs team since Andy Reid arrived, his team made enough plays to earn their first win of the season. In defeating the New York Giants 22-9, they are halfway through the most challenging part of their schedule.
Yes, the Giants and their quarterback, Russell Wilson, didn’t have a great game, but give the Chiefs’ defense credit, which played a great game. They held Wilson to 160 passing yards, intercepted two of his passes (Jaylen Watson and Chris Rolland-Watson), and sacked him twice (Chris Jones and George Karlaftis), to keep their offense in check.
Nick Bolton led the team with 14 tackles (6 solo), and Karlaftis with 10 tackles (8 solo). This defense had a few too many penalties in key situations, but they did their jobs, never allowing the Giants to be comfortable on offense.
The Chiefs’ defense also limited Giants wide receiver Malik Nabors to just thirteen yards on two catches. Watson spent most of the night covering him, along with rookie Noel Williams. After the Chiefs took him out of the game, the Giants’ top offensive threat was rookie running back Cam Skattebo.
He led the Giants’ offense in both receiving and rushing. He energized their offense, and if not for him, New York probably wouldn’t have scored any points on Sunday Night.
For the Chiefs and their offense, their first-half performance was woeful. However, the Giants’ pass rush, led by Brian Burns, forced Mahomes to rush his throws and run for his life. Nevertheless, they came out with the ball in the second half and looked more like a championship team.
For the second straight week, wide receiver Tyquan Thornton scored another touchdown and almost had a third. His 33-yard catch in the fourth quarter was impressive. He was well covered, but it was a critical moment when the Chiefs needed to score more points to build a lead over the Giants.
Thornton is quietly becoming a big surprise for the Chiefs’ offense. In fact, if Xavier Worthy returns next Sunday at home against the Baltimore Ravens, and Rashee Rice comes back after week six and is available for the Raiders game in week seven, that trio will definitely boost the Chiefs’ passing game.
To their credit, the older men, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Hollywood Brown, also made some big plays, and if the offensive line can make some adjustments, the Chiefs’ offense might have the best-receiving group in the AFC West.
Now, we can’t get ahead of ourselves, but the Chiefs needed a win, and honestly, the Giants never posed a serious challenge to win this game.
We can nitpick many things, like Kicker Harrison Butker missing field goals in three straight games, Travis Kelce and Andy Reid getting into it again on the sidelines, and more penalties from correct tackle Jawaan Taylor, but the fact that the Chiefs escaped New York with a win should be applauded.
Ultimately, Kansas City won a game they were expected to win, and there were enough positive takeaways to build on ahead of their matchup with the Ravens next weekend. Baltimore hosts the Detroit Lions on Monday Night, so they might be a bit tired when they face the Chiefs at Arrowhead.
Regardless of how you view this game, the Chiefs get the win, and now they can exhale as they prepare for the Ravens.
