Mahomes, Chiefs keep winning with their brand. Gone are the days of the wildly explosive Kansas City offense that struck fear in the hearts of the rest of the NFL, and in its place is a frustratingly consistent attack that is incredibly difficult to force off the field. Kansas City converted 12 of 18 third-down attempts Monday night, and can thank Patrick Mahomes and his artistry for making it possible. His 7-yard flip to Samaje Perine for a touchdown was a prime example of how Mahomes finds ways to succeed amid chaos, as were his 14 connections with Travis Kelce (for 100 yards). Even after he tweaked his ankle on the Perine TD, Mahomes was able to keep the train moving, albeit slowly. The speed didn’t matter, though — actually, it was an advantage. The Chiefs added a relatively new wrinkle Monday night, dominating on the ground with a methodical, grinding, run-heavy scoring drive that ate up 8:26 of game clock and ended in a 4-yard slant to DeAndre Hopkins for the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth. When they won possession in overtime, everybody at Arrowhead Stadium and in the national viewing audience knew what was coming: Another slow, steady drive built on tough Kareem Hunt carries and precise short-to-intermediate passing. The final two plays were fitting: a sharp pass to Kelce inside Tampa Bay’s 5-yard line, and a physical 2-yard Hunt touchdown run to send the Chiefs to 8-0. It’s not explosive or spectacular, but through nine weeks, the Chiefs have proven they’re going to win their way and dare any opponent in their path to stop them.
Buccaneers adapt after offensive losses. With Mike Evans and Chris Godwin out of action, Tampa Bay entered Week 9 knowing it needed to change how it operated in order to give itself the best chance to win. Enter tight end Cade Otton, the de facto WR1 who went bonkers a week earlier and followed it up by stacking a bunch of quality catches to keep this offense going. The Bucs’ verticality largely disappeared, but Baker Mayfield found a way to keep the offense afloat by leaning heavily on Otton, a multi-headed rushing attack and a more lateral passing attack that saw them string together two touchdown drives in the second and third quarter. Even with the game on the line, Tampa Bay didn’t attempt a deep shot, relying on Mayfield’s improvisation and ability to find targets while on the run. His touchdown pass to Ryan Miller was the perfect capper to a drive that required Mayfield to make magic with a cast led by Sterling Shepard, Rakim Jarrett and Trey Palmer, illustrating how Mayfield’s determination is a big part of what makes him an effective NFL quarterback. They lost on Monday night, but Buccaneers fans have to feel good about having their offense in the hands of offensive coordinator Liam Coen, who proved the loss of his team’s top two pass catchers isn’t fatal.
D-Hop makes his mark. DeAndre Hopkins joined the Chiefs a little over a week ago and had a quiet debut, catching two passes for 29 yards. That wasn’t the case Monday night. Hopkins caught eight passes for 86 yards, including a difficult 35-yard grab hauled in between two defenders that set up their first touchdown of the night: another Hopkins catch from 1 yard out. When Kansas City acquired the veteran, it hoped he’d provide Mahomes with a legitimate option at receiver in a cast that desperately needed one. He did just that against the Buccaneers, giving Mahomes a target that didn’t exist in the wide receiver group. His second score — a 5-yard grab caught on a hard slant along the goal line — felt inevitable. Consider this trade a success already.
Bowles’ defense runs out of gas. Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles is known for being aggressive with his blitzes in order to wreak havoc on opposing offenses, but on Monday night, he rarely had the opportunity to let his rushers loose. With the ground game keeping them honest and Mahomes’ improvisation making for quite a challenge, the Buccaneers blitzed just five times and recorded a pressure rate below 25 percent, choosing instead to attempt to play coverage and hope their base rushes might get home. That resulted in a low-scoring affair, but the true indictment of Bowles’ unit arrived when Mahomes and Co. embarked on a slow and steady scoring drive in the fourth quarter, imposing their will on the Buccaneers’ defense over 15 plays. By the time the Chiefs moved into Tampa Bay’s red zone, the Buccaneers appeared exhausted. Andy Reid’s boa constrictor-like approach worked to near perfection, and when the Buccaneers managed to push the game to overtime, nobody was surprised when Reid followed the same blueprint, grinding the Buccaneers’ defense down to powder with a 10-play, 70-yard march. When the dust settled, one thing was clear: the Buccaneers lost the war of attrition to the defending champions.
Spagnuolo’s defense survives challenging night. Mahomes might attract the spotlight, but Spagnuolo’s unit is a big reason why the Chiefs repeated as champions last season. It’s been a sneaky strength and a great complement to Reid’s methodical offense this season, but on Monday night, it took on an uncharacteristic appearance. The Chiefs struggled to generate pressure, failed to stop Mayfield and the Buccaneers in the final two and a half minutes of regulation and lucked out when the Chiefs won the overtime coin toss. There were bright spots, of course. Kansas City bottled up Tampa Bay’s rushing attack, holding it to under 100 yards as a team. The Chiefs kept the Buccaneers under 300 yards as a team on a wet night in Kansas City. They forced two Buccaneers punts after they took a 17-10 lead late in the third, earning the Chiefs two possessions to tie and then take the lead. But for the first time in a while, they weren’t the suffocating unit they’ve been known to be. Mayfield frequently found targets open on out routes and was able to sustain momentum with his obvious preferred target in Otton. The Chiefs emerged victorious, but we can bank on them using this game tape to correct some things going forward.
Next Gen Stats Insight from Buccaneers-Chiefs (via NFL Pro): Deandre Hopkins caught six of his seven targets on in-breaking routes for 70 yards and two touchdowns, his most yards on such routes since Week 14, 2020. Hopkins’ +8.6 receiving EPA generated on in-breakers is also his most since the start of 2018.
NFL Research: The last time a team 7-0 or better won an overtime game to remain undefeated was in 2009, when the Saints defeated Washington in Week 13. The Saints went on to win Super Bowl XLIV at the end of the 2009 season.
