ATLANTA — — Patrick Mahomes knows he has to get better.

Don’t worry.

Thanks to some stifling defense from Kansas City, the two-time reigning Super Bowl champions remain undefeated.

Mahomes shook off another interception and threw two touchdown passes. The Chiefs defense stopped Atlanta on fourth down twice in the final minutes to secure a 22-17 victory over the Falcons on Sunday night.

“It helps when you have a defense that’s been in those moments before and can make big plays,” Mahomes said. “It’s a team sport and we win games and I feel like we’re getting better and better every week.”

The Chiefs (3-0) are far from perfect, that’s for sure — Mahomes points more to himself than anyone else — but their record remains unblemished with a total of 13 points.

After a surprise victory over Philadelphia, the Falcons (1-2) had a few more chances for the decisive touchdown in the final minutes.

Kirk Cousins ​​threw two incomplete passes into the end zone from the Chiefs’ 6-yard line after the Falcons missed a shot on a field goal with just over 4 minutes left.

Atlanta got the ball back, drove down the field with the help of a couple of penalties, and had a third-and-1 at the Kansas City 13-yard line. Tyler Allgeier was stopped for no gain and Bijan Robinson was thrown for a loss of 3 yards by Nick Bolton on fourth down with under a minute left.

Bolton said he recognized the play the Falcons made before they got the ball.

“Trust my keys, trust my eyes, trust the play call that we had,” he said. “I already knew where I was going.”

Mahomes threw for 217 yards, including scoring throws to Rashee Rice and JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Harrison Butker kicked three field goals for the Chiefs.

Cousins ​​completed 20 of 29 passes for 230 yards, including a 13-yard touchdown pass to Drake London and a 50-yard complete pass to Kyle Pitts, setting up Robinson’s 1-yard scoring run.

“I feel like we missed a lot of opportunities on the field,” Cousins ​​said. “I’m looking forward to getting better.”

The Falcons capitalized on their stunning last game against Philadelphia and took the kickoff, rushing 70 yards for a touchdown.

Cousins ​​completed all five of his passes for 66 yards, including a 14-yard scoring toss to Drake London — who also caught the game-winning score against the Eagles. London ended up all alone in the end zone on a failed coverage by the Chiefs.

Mahomes recovered from his fourth interception of the season to lead Kansas City on a 13-play, 79-yard drive that ended with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Rice.

The Falcons regained the lead on a 1-yard touchdown run from Robinson, set up by a 50-yard pass from Cousins ​​to Kyle Pitts.

But Atlanta’s offensive line took a couple of hits when right tackle Kaleb McGary and center Drew Dalman both went down with injuries. With a couple of backups joining their ranks, the guys up top struggled to keep the pressure off Cousins, who was sacked twice and hit 10 more times throwing, and spent much of the night picking himself up off the turf at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

One of those hits resulted in a wobbly pass that was intercepted by Chamarri Conner, setting up Butker’s 44-yard field goal that cut the Falcons’ lead to 14-13 at halftime.

Butker put the Chiefs ahead with a 21-yard chip shot in the third quarter, and Kansas City extended its lead on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Mahomes to Smith-Schuster late in the third quarter.

For the third straight game, Travis Kelce wasn’t much of a factor. The star tight end had four catches for 30 yards.

Replacements for running backs

While Kansas City running back Isiah Pacheco was sidelined with an ankle injury, the Chiefs performed well thanks to his replacements.

Carson Steele, an undrafted rookie, led the way with 17 rushing carries for 72 yards. Samaje Perine contributed with six carries for 25 yards, along with three catches for 15 yards.

“I had a lot of confidence there,” Mahomes said. “You lose some of the energy that Isaiah has. I mean, there’s not a lot of people that excited after every run. But I thought the guys did a great job.”

Controversial no-call

After a disputed pass interference penalty on fourth-and-long had secured their win over Cincinnati the week before, the Chiefs might have gotten away with it against the Falcons.

On third-and-goal from the Kansas City 6, Cousins ​​looked at Pitts in the back of the end zone. With his back to the quarterback, safety Bryan Cook appeared to collide with Pitts just before the ball arrived.

But the officials didn’t wave the flag and Cousins’ fourth pass was also incomplete.

“That’s a real-time call that officials have to make a judgment call on,” referee Tra Blake told a pool reporter. “We’re doing our best to make that decision.”

Report of injury

Chiefs: Bolton left the field early in the fourth quarter after an unfortunate landing, but he came back and stopped Robinson.

Falcons: McGary and Dalman both went off in the second quarter. McGary was forced off with a knee injury and replaced by Storm Norton. Dalman was replaced by Ryan Neuzil after being sidelined with an ankle injury.

Next

Chiefs: They remain on the road for another week and visit Los Angeles next Sunday to take on the Chargers (2-1) in an AFC West game.

Falcons: Play their second of three straight home games when NFC South rivals the New Orleans Saints (2-1) visit Atlanta next Sunday.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl