For three quarters, the Chiefs found themselves on the losing side of the scoreboard. Trailing by eleven points after a critical red zone fumble, Patrick Mahomes elevated his play, and Harrison Butker kicked the game-winning field goal in overtime for a 23-20 victory.
The Kansas City Chiefs finally secured a close victory, boosting their season record to 6-5. They still need to surpass three teams to reach the postseason conversation, but despite numerous mistakes, Patrick Mahomes and his team found the energy in the fourth quarter and overtime to send the Colts home with a tough loss.
Before we delve too deeply into the details, Harrison Butker’s performance stood out. He made five field goals, helping the Chiefs on Sunday. However, numerous missed opportunities, caused by a series of questionable penalties that negated several first downs and a touchdown, hurt the team. We can criticize the officiating, and the NFL definitely has a serious problem with its lower-level officiating crews. Still, the Chiefs overcame all of that and remain in the playoff race.
Patrick Mahomes led one impressive drive after another, and finally, after the Kareem Hunt fumble to start the fourth quarter, he stayed in the pocket under fire. He made all the plays in the last stanza that allowed Kansas City to put up 11 unanswered points.
Although he didn’t throw a touchdown, he completed 29 of 46 passes for 352 yards. He was sacked four times, and when Guard Trey Smith left the game with an injured ankle, players had to step up.
Facing a season-ending game, Mahomes motivated his team on offense, and Chris Jones did the same for KC’s stifling defense. They held the Colts’ running back to 58 yards on 16 carries. Aside from his 27-yard run in the second half, he was almost entirely ineffective.
Although the Chiefs never sacked Colts quarterback Daniel Jones, he caused some problems for them in the second half. The Chiefs nearly scored a pick-six late in the game, but Nick Bolton and Chamarri Conner collided on an errant Jones pass.
Still, I marvel at how the Chiefs won this game. As a fan, it was a challenging game to watch, and even though we doubted the comeback and wondered out loud if Mahomes could be Houdini again, he still delivered.
Many things went well in this game, but settling for four field goals during regulation continues to haunt this offense. The main issue was costly penalties that cost the team potential points.
Some of that was play-calling, but give Head Coach Andy Reid credit for sticking with Kareem Hunt until he couldn’t go anymore. The man had 30 carries for 104 yards and a diving touchdown to help the Chiefs erase their tough fourth-quarter comeback.
He was truly the MVP of the offense, and unfortunately, they’ll have to depend on Hunt for every bit of running he can provide down the stretch. Without a solid backup, it’s Hunt’s show for the rest of the season.
Defensively, as previously mentioned, Chris Jones was a dominant force among the offensive linemen. He regularly faced double teams as the Chiefs persisted in a troubling pattern of rushing only four defensive linemen. Still, in the fourth quarter and overtime, Steve Spagnuolo increased pressure on Jones and executed effective run blitzes that contained Taylor.
Despite the heart palpitations hanging over Arrowhead regarding their playoff hopes, the Chiefs managed to play with energy and confront the elephant in the room. They now stand 1-5 in close games, and Mahomes hopes this marks the beginning of regaining the soul of the team and their determination to be a formidable opponent for the rest of the season.
They’ll be favored in every remaining game, and they have a short week to prepare for the Dallas Cowboys. The Colts beat the Chiefs and sustained several injuries, so Kansas City will need to push through their pain and head to Dallas on Thanksgiving Day to build on their win over the Colts.
