ATLANTA (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw two touchdown passes and the Kansas City defense made some last-minute saves to keep the Chiefs undefeated with a 22-17 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday night.
The Chiefs (3-0), the two-time defending Super Bowl champions, were far from perfect – Mahomes threw another interception – but won their first three games by a total of 13 points.
We thank the defense for this.
After their surprise victory in Philadelphia, the Falcons (1:2) still had several chances for the decisive touchdown in the final minutes.
Kirk Cousins threw a pair of incomplete passes into the end zone from the Chiefs’ 6-yard line, ending a chance, and Atlanta’s final drive ended with Bijan Robinson taking a 3-yard loss on fourth-and-one at the Kansas City 13-yard line with less than a minute left on the clock.
Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts (8) misses the catch against Kansas City Chiefs safety Bryan Cook (6) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Brynn Anderson
Mahomes threw for 217 yards, including touchdowns 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, making a 13-yard touchdown pass to Drake London and a 50-yard pass to Kyle Pitts that set up Robinson’s 1-yard touchdown run.
Cousins and the Falcons capitalized on the momentum of their last-minute blowout in Philadelphia, quickly scoring 70 yards and a touchdown after the opening kickoff.
Cousins completed all five of his passes for 66 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown pass to Drake London, who also caught the winning catch against the Eagles. London ended up all alone in the end zone after a failed coverage by the Chiefs.
After three games of his third season, London became the fastest player in Falcons history to reach 150 pass catches.
Mahomes responded with a long drive of his own, taking the Chiefs to 75 in 17 plays but failing to score a single point. As he charged Noah Gray in the end zone, Mahomes was intercepted by Justin Simmons – the fourth pick of the season for the Chiefs’ star quarterback.
But Mahomes recovered from that mistake and took Kansas City all the way to the end zone, a 13-play, 79-yard possession ending with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Rice.
The Falcons regained the lead on Robinson’s 1-yard touchdown run, which was set up by Cousins’ 50-yard pass to Kyle Pitts.
But Atlanta’s offensive line suffered two setbacks when right tackle Kaleb McGary and center Drew Dalman both went down with injuries. With two backups in their ranks, the guys up front struggled to keep the pressure off Cousins, who was sacked twice and hit 10 more times while throwing and spent much of the night trying to get up off the turf at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
One of those drives 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 gave the Chiefs the lead in the third quarter with a 21-yard chip shot, and Kansas City extended its lead late in the third quarter with Mahomes’ 13-yard touchdown pass to Smith-Schuster.
INJURY REPORT
Chiefs: LB Nick Bolton limped off the field in the fourth quarter but came back to stop Robinson.
Falcons: McGary and Dalman both went down in the second quarter. McGary was carried off the field with a knee injury and replaced by Storm Norton. Dalman was replaced by Ryan Neuzil after he went down with an ankle injury.
Next
Chiefs: Stay on the road for another week when they visit Los Angeles next Sunday to face the Chargers (2-1) in an AFC West matchup.
Falcons: Play the second of three consecutive home games when their NFC South rival, the New Orleans Saints (2-1), travel to Atlanta next Sunday.
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