KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs are so dynamic offensively they sometimes don’t even know when they’ve scored a touchdown.
They were fortunate one of those cases didn’t come back to bite them Sunday night.
Patrick Mahomes threw for 318 yards and a score, Harrison Butker was perfect on five field-goal attempts, and the underrated Chiefs defence bailed out an offence that struggled once again in the red zone — and made two big mistakes that cost them touchdowns — in a 22-16 victory over the Denver Broncos.
Travis Kelce had eight receptions for 136 yards along with the go-ahead TD grab late in the third quarter, and Tyrann Mathieu twice picked off Broncos quarterback Drew Lock — the second with 24 seconds left to seal the win — as the Chiefs clinched a playoff berth by improving to 11-1 for the second time in franchise history.
“It’s obviously a big deal — you want to find a way to get in the playoffs,” Mahomes said, “but we have bigger goals.”
Like defending their Super Bowl title.
It might help their cause if the Chiefs actually count the touchdowns they score.
The play everyone was left talking about came on third-and-10 at the Denver 40 early in the second quarter. Mahomes found a wide-open Tyreek Hill downfield, only for him to appear to drop the certain touchdown. But replays clearly showed the ball trapped between Hill and a defender, never touching the ground, for what should have been a score.
Hill never argued when it was called incomplete, though, nor did Chiefs coach Andy Reid throw his red challenge flag.
Instead, he quickly sent his punt team out and tried to pin the Broncos deep in their own territory.
“I checked with Tyreek,” Reid said afterward. “He came off, and normally you can tell with a receiver whether he had it or not — especially Tyreek — and he was surprised as any of us he ended up with the football.”
Hill also had a 48-yard touchdown reception wiped out by holding late in the game, which gave the Broncos (4-8) a chance to march for the go-ahead score. Denver managed to move to midfield before stalling, but rather than going for it on fourth-and-3 with 6 minutes to go, coach Vic Fangio elected to punt the ball away.
The Chiefs melted most of the clock before Butker kicked a 48-yard field goal with 1:06 left, and the Kansas City defence forced Lock into a wild fourth-down throw that Tyrann Mathieu intercepted to put the game away.
“I gave it strong consideration,” Fangio said of his fourth-down call, “but you know, at some point in the game, we’ve got to get a stop, and we weren’t able to. We held them to a field goal but that made it a touchdown game and burned off some of the time there, so in retrospect, should have probably gone for it.”
Lock returned after missing last week’s game against New Orleans, along with the rest of Denver’s quarterbacks, because of COVID-19 positive tests and contact tracing. The local boy finished with 151 yards passing and two touchdown throws to Tim Patrick, while Melvin Gordon ran for 131 yards on just 15 carries.
“There’s no feel-good losses in this league,” Lock said. “We did play them closer than we have before, but I mean, what does that get you? Nothing. It gets you an upset locker room. It gets you a sad flight home.”
Made even more stinging is how close the Broncos came to springing the upset.
The Chiefs didn’t take the lead until Butker’s fourth field goal early in the second half, then answered the second Lock-to-Patrick touchdown connection with a TD of their own. With a defender hanging on his jersey, Mahomes tossed a 15-yard scoring pass to Kelce, ending their streak of seven straight red-zone trips without a touchdown.
The Chiefs defence made sure that the only touchdown they scored in the game would be enough.
“It’s such a blessing to have that guy back there slinging it around,” Kelce said, “because he takes the ultimate pride in his craft and playing the game, and you know you can always count on him.”
CLOSE COVID CALL
The Chiefs learned early Sunday that they had returned seven positive tests, but it wound up being a computer glitch and the game was allowed to proceed. “When they talk to you early in the morning like that, you’re not sure what is real and what is not real,” Reid said. “They said, `Let’s give us an hour to work through this thing and see if we can get it right,’ and it all came back where we were OK.”
OUTSPOKEN RETURN
Broncos defensive end Shelby Harris, who had COVID-19 along with his pregnant wife and three children, returned for the first time in about a month. But after describing his “weird headaches” and “nerve pain” in detail Friday, Harris was stunned by the lax approach taken by some Chiefs fans to wearing masks and social distancing. “They really don’t care about COVID in Missouri,” he said in a pregame tweet, followed by: “Full tents of people tailgating makes no sense.”
INJURIES
Broncos: C Graham Glasgow left with a foot injury in the first quarter. CB Essang Bassey, pressed into a bigger role after Bryce Callahan (foot) landed on IR this week, left with a knee injury on the first drive of the second half.
Chiefs: CB Antonio Hamilton had to be helped off the field after blocking on a punt return early in the fourth quarter.
The French league’s legal commission has ordered Paris Saint-Germain to pay Kylian Mbappé the 55 million euros ($61 million) in unpaid wages that he claims he’s entitled to, the league said Thursday.
The league confirmed the decision to The Associated Press without more details, a day after the France superstar rejected a mediation offer by the commission in his dispute with his former club.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former football star Reggie Bush was at his Encino home Tuesday night when three male suspects attempted to break in, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.
“Everyone is safe,” Bush said in a text message to the newspaper.
The Los Angeles Police Dept. told the Times that a resident of the house reported hearing a window break and broken glass was found outside. Police said nothing was stolen and that three male suspects dressed in black were seen leaving the scene.
Bush starred at Southern California and in the NFL. The former running back was reinstated as the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner this year. He forfeited it in 2010 after USC was hit with sanctions partly related to Bush’s dealings with two aspiring sports marketers.
VANCOUVER – A fresh face has been gracing the B.C. Lions‘ highlight reels in recent weeks.
Midway through his second CFL campaign, wide receiver Ayden Eberhardt has contributed touchdowns in two consecutive games.
The 26-year-old wide receiver from Loveland, Colo., was the lone B.C. player to reel in a passing major in his team’s 37-23 victory over the league-leading Montreal Alouettes last Friday. The week before, he notched his first CFL touchdown in the Lions’ win over the Ottawa Redblacks.
“It’s been awesome. It’s been really good,” Eberhardt said of his recent play. “At the end of the day, the biggest stat to me is if we win. But who doesn’t love scoring?”
He’ll look to add to the tally Friday when the Leos (7-6) host the Toronto Argonauts.
Eberhardt signed with B.C. as a free agent in January 2023 and spent much of last season on the practice squad before cementing a role on the roster this year.
The six-foot-two, 195-pound University of Wyoming product has earned more opportunities in his second season, said Lions’ head coach and co-general manager Rick Campbell.
“He’s a super hard worker and very smart. He understands, has high football IQ, as we call it,” Campbell said.
The fact that Eberhardt can play virtually every receiving position helps.
“He could literally go into a game and we could throw him into a spot and he’d know exactly what he’s doing,” the coach said. “That allows him to play fast and earn the quarterback’s trust. And you see him making plays.”
Eberhardt credited his teammates, coaches and the rest of the Lions’ staff with helping him prepare for any situation he might face. They’ve all spent time teaching him the ins and outs of the Canadian game, or go over the playbook and run routes after practice, he said.
“I’ve played every single position on our offence in a game in the last two years, which is kind of crazy. But I love playing football,” he said. “I want to play any position that the team needs me to play.”
While B.C.’s lineup is studded with stars like running back William Stanback — who has a CFL-high 938 rushing yards — and wide receiver Justin McInnis — who leads the league in both receiving yards (1,074) and receiving TDs (seven) — versatility has been a critical part of the team’s back-to-back wins.
“I think we’ve got a lot of talented guys who deserve to get the ball and make big plays when they have the ball in their hands. So it’s really my job to get them the ball as much as possible,” said quarterback Nathan Rourke.
“I think that makes it easy when you can lean on those guys and, really, we’re in a situation where anyone can have a big game. And I think that’s a good place to be.”
Even with a talented lineup, the Lions face a tough test against an eager Argos side.
Toronto lost its second straight game Saturday when it dropped a 41-27 decision to Ottawa.
“We’ll have our hands full,” Rourke said. “We’ll have to adjust on the fly to whatever their game plan is. And no doubt, they’ll be ready to go so we’ll have to be as well.”
The two sides have already met once this season when the Argos handed the Lions a 35-27 loss in Toronto back on June 9.
A win on Friday would vault B.C. to the top of the West Division standings, over the 7-6 Winnipeg Blue Bombers who are on a bye week.
Collecting that victory isn’t assured, though, even with Toronto coming in on a two-game skid, Campbell said.
“They’ve hit a little bit of a rut, but they’re a really good team,” he said. “They’re very athletic. And you can really see (quarterback Chad Kelly’s) got zip on the ball. When you see him in there, he can make all the throws. So we’re expecting their best shot.”
TORONTO ARGONAUTS (6-6) AT B.C. LIONS (7-6)
Friday, B.C. Place
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: The Lions boast a 4-1 home record this season, including a 38-12 victory over the Redblacks at Royal Athletic Park in Victoria, B.C., on Aug. 31. The Argos have struggled outside of BMO Field and hold a 1-5 away record. Trips to the West Coast haven’t been easy for Toronto in recent years — since 2003, the club is 4-14 in road games against B.C.
CENTURION: B.C. defensive back Garry Peters is set to appear in his 100th consecutive game. The 32-year-old from Conyers, Ga., is a two-time CFL all-star who has amassed 381 defensive tackles, 19 special teams tackles and 16 interceptions over seven seasons. “Just being on the field with the guys every day, running around, talking trash back and forth, it keeps me young,” Peters said. “It makes me feel good, and my body doesn’t really feel it. I’ve been blessed to be able to play 100 straight.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
