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Chiefs survive OT, Mahome’s injury scare to beat Bucs
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Chiefs survive OT, Mahome’s injury scare to beat Bucs

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Kansas City Chiefs have found their way to 8-0 this season by winning in some unlikely ways. Perhaps none of them are more improbable than their 30-24 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on “Monday Night Football” at Arrowhead Stadium.

The Chiefs trailed by seven points in the fourth quarter but rallied with two touchdown passes from Patrick Mahomes, who injured his ankle throwing the first. He returned for the next offensive possession and led a 15-play drive that took more than eight minutes. Baker Mayfield led the Bucs on a touchdown drive to tie the score in the final minute of regulation, pushing the game to overtime, where the Chiefs scored a touchdown on the first possession for an automatic victory.

DeAndre Hopkins was big for the Chiefs following their recent wide receiver trade with the Tennessee Titans. In his second game with Kansas City, Hopkins caught eight passes for 86 yards and scored two touchdowns.

Here are the most important things to know for both teams starting Monday night:


QB breakdown: Mahomes got his first completion of 20 or more air yards since Week 4 on a 35-yard pass to Hopkins in the first half. But that was Mahomes’ only completion of more than 20 air yards. He was also fired four times.

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Hopkins follows up a big catch in traffic with his 1st Chiefs TD

DeAndre Hopkins makes a great catch in double coverage, and a few plays later gets his first touchdown as a Chief.

Most surprising achievement: Kareem Hunt had a tough game with 16 rushing yards on seven carries in the first half. But he rushed seven times for 47 yards on Kansas City’s tying touchdown drive to make it 17-17 with 14:14 remaining. He finished with 27 carries for 106 yards, including the winning score.

Describe the game in two words: Tough victory. The Chiefs and their struggling offense appeared to be in trouble in the fourth quarter, trailing by seven points. But they put together two touchdown drives, one with a hobbled Mahomes after the ankle injury, to take a 24-17 lead before closing out a victory in OT. –Adam Teicher

Next game: vs. Broncos (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)


Despite being without their top three wide receivers, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan, the Bucs almost eliminated the NFL’s only undefeated team, but instead have now dropped three in a row. Wide receiver Ryan Miller caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Mayfield to tie the score at 24-24. But their defense couldn’t hold on, with a 10-play overtime drive capped by Hunt’s 2-yard touchdown.

The Bucs fell below .500 for the first season. They have one more game next week hosting the San Francisco 49ers before their Week 11 bye, and then Evans is expected to return. From there, their schedule becomes considerably easier, as only one remaining opponent has a winning record (the Los Angeles Chargers), suggesting they could make another late-season playoff push.

QB breakdown: Mayfield completed 23 of 31 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns. Tight end Cade Oton’s 11-yard touchdown came in the corner of the end zone with safety Justin Reid in coverage. Like last week, Mayfield leaned heavily on Otton and running backs Bucky Irving and Rachaad White in the screen game.

Biggest hole in the game plan: All four of the Chiefs’ touchdowns came on third down, with two of them coming to Hopkins against Josh Hayes, giving him his first career NFL start after Tyreek Funderburk struggled last week. The Bucs had no other options, with Jamel Dean on injured reserve due to a hamstring injury, but this was a tough assignment. However, Hayes recovered a forced fumble by Tykee Smith on Travis Kelce.

Eye-popping statistic: Despite two sacks each from defensive tackles Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey, the Bucs took a passive approach to pressuring Mahomes — just like they did in Super Bowl LV. They took advantage of just 13% of Mahomes’ dropbacks in the first three quarters, the second-lowest percentage of Bowles’ time with the Bucs. Bowles’ 11% blitz rate in Super Bowl LV is the lowest of his tenure and calls for defenses. –Jenna Laine

Next game: vs. 49ers (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)