KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The loudest stadium in the NFL became eerily quiet midway through the second quarter as the Kansas City Chiefs slogged their way through a rough-and-tumble battle with the Tennessee Titans on Sunday Night Football.
Patrick Mahomes breathed life back into GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium practically by himself late in the fourth quarter, willing the Chiefs to a 20-17 victory in overtime.
“The main thing was we won a game where we were behind a bit,” Andy Reid said. “It was a struggle. We were up and down. The guys all hung together.”
Kansas City had been lifeless on offense, unable to run the ball and struggling to protect Mahomes when he dropped back.
So, Mahomes turned to his legs, converting a third-and-17 with a 20-yard scramble into Tennessee territory.
“You know going into this game against this team, it’s always going to be a battle and be a fight,” Mahomes said. “I’m proud of the way our guys responded and made it happen there in the second half. You’ve got to win games in different ways in this league.”
Seven plays later, facing another third-and-long, Mahomes scrambled 14 yards to the end zone, drawing the Chiefs within two points.
After penalties on the first two two-point conversion attempts, Mahomes scrambled to the front left corner of the end zone to tie the game at 17-17 and force overtime.
“We kind of get spoiled watching greatness every week,” linebacker Nick Bolton said. “He does it every week, and we kind of get spoiled by it. Then, he does it again and you’re more amazed by it.”
Coach Reid rolled the dice on fourth-and-1 from the Titans’ 13-yard line in overtime, eschewing a short go-ahead field goal attempt by Harrison Butker, who already missed an extra point and a 47-yard try earlier in the game.
Mahomes, who finished 43 of 68 for 446 yards, rewarded Reid’s faith with a 3-yard completion to JuJu Smith-Schuster, but Kansas City settled for a field goal after three straight incompletions.
Butker’s 28-yard field goal gave the Chiefs the lead and gave the defense a chance to close out Tennessee, which it did thanks to a pair of sacks.
Khalen Saunders sacked Malik Willis on second down for a 12-yard loss, while Chris Jones and Carlos Dunlap teamed up for a third-down sack.
On fourth-and-21, L’Jarius Sneed had the game-clinching pass breakup as the Chiefs improved to 6-2. The defense only allowed 22 yards from scrimmage on 27 plays and one first down after halftime.
“It was a great team win, a great job of our defense coming out and executing a game plan in the second half and tackling,” Bolton said.
Historically, Reid-coached teams play well coming off a bye week, but that didn’t happen against Tennessee, which handled Kansas City 27-3 in last season’s meeting in Nashville.
The Titans were without starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill for the second straight game, but they weren’t without running back Derrick Henry, who racked up 115 yards and two touchdowns but only had 17 carries.
Henry gashed the defense for runs of 56 and 24 yards in the first half, but the Chiefs' defense tightened up from there.
“Going into this, the whole game plan was to stop 22 (Henry) and I feel like, after the first half, that’s exactly what we did,” said cornerback Joshua Williams, who had one of the defense's four tackles for a loss. “The preparation that the coaches did and we did as a unit paid off.”
Kansas City bolted to a 9-0 lead early in the second quarter, but Tennessee scored 17 unanswered before Mahomes’ rushing heroics. He finished with six carries for 63 yards and a touchdown, while the Chiefs’ running backs totaled 14 yards on 13 carries.
Travis Kelce — who caught 10 passes for 106 yards, including three for 30 yards in overtime — epitomized Kansas City’s frustration for much of the game. He turned his helmet into a projectile after tipping a pass for an interception early in the third quarter.
“Not all wins are going to be pretty,” safety Justin Reid said. “But credit to the resiliency that this football team has to just find a way. Everybody’s bought in and willing to do whatever it takes to get the win.”
Things had started well for the Chiefs.
After receiving the game’s kickoff, Kansas City mounted a 15-play opening drive and took the early lead on a 23-yard Harrison Butker field goal.
The second drive ended in the Titans’ end zone with Mahomes connecting on a 4-yard touchdown to Mecole Hardman Jr., who carried over the momentum from a three-touchdown performance at San Francisco before the bye.
Butker’s missed extra point left the Chiefs’ lead at 9-0.
Tennessee found its legs in the running game on the ensuing drive, gaining a foothold in the game with a 4-yard Derrick Henry touchdown off a direct snap.
After a penalty erased a first-down pass to Travis Kelce and led to a three-and-out, Henry powered the Titans into the lead with a 56-yard run followed by a 1-yard touchdown.
Tennessee led 14-9 at halftime and took an eight-point lead early in the third quarter on Randy Bullock’s 44-yard field goal after Kelce tipped a Mahomes pass for an interception.
With the win, Kansas City is tied with Buffalo, which lost to the New York Jets on Sunday. for the best record in the AFC, but the Bills would own the tiebreaker after a head-to-head win in Week 6.
“After seeing the Jets beat the Bills, it kind of puts us in first place,” said JuJu Smith-Schuster, who made 10 catches for 88 yards. “We’ve just got to keep going.”
