The Week 4 battle between two legendary quarterbacks didn’t disappoint on Sunday Night Football, but one signal caller left much happier than the other. While Tom Brady turned out gaudy numbers at home for the Buccaneers, Patrick Mahomes enjoyed a much easier evening for the Chiefs, riding Andy Reid’s creativity and some acrobatic red-zone hijinks to Tampa Bay’s 41-31 win. The Super Bowl LV rematch certainly showed offensive firepower, with the two teams tying for over 700 yards, but all of the Bucs’ points came from behind as the home team chased Reid’s Chiefs.
Here are some instant takeaways from Kansas City’s big prime-time win:
Why the Chiefs won
Reid’s offense was (almost literally) unstoppable. We’ve seen plenty of explosive games from Mahomes and company over the years, but the street favorites prevailed all night. The No. 15 threw the ball around, hitting Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Travis Kelce early for splash plays, and once again Reid’s creativity in the red zone was impeccable. Whether Mahomes is scrambling and playing last-second scoop passes into the back of the end zone or Noah Gray is lining up under center in the tight end, they couldn’t be denied in goal range.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Isiah Pacheco were also busy finding ground space and combined for over 130 rushing yards. Aside from a stripsack from L’Jarius Sneed, the Chiefs’ defense was relatively leaky, and Mahomes gifted the Bucs a late pick by throwing one into double cover. But that didn’t matter much at this point, with 41 points already on the board and a forced fumble on the opening kickoff set the tone in Kansas City’s favor from the start.
Why the privateers lost
Todd Bowles’ defense had no answers for the best playing QB in football and yielded the most points of any Bowles-led unit in the manager’s career. Despite three sacks and a late pick by Sean Murphy-Bunting, their typically physical roster just couldn’t hold off the Chiefs for long, especially on third downs and in the red zone. They also completely lacked ground play, with Rachaad White and Leonard Fournette not being factors, but that didn’t matter in an immediate, all-night shootout.
No, the real killer, aside from their inability to stop KC, were turnovers – a fumble on White’s opening kickoff and Brady’s fumble on a rough strip sack. Brady was otherwise in MVP form, bringing the Bucs back within range several times and threading the needle on Mike Evans on a couple of clutch throws. In the end her efforts were too little, too late and a little too sloppy, with five penalties also hampering her results.
turning point
They could easily point to the kickoff that started the game, giving the Chiefs an instant bonus possession just outside the red zone. But Sneed’s zoom from the edge to knock Brady over, force a fumble and slowly make TB12 stand up certainly felt like the game’s unofficial cap. Already down 21-10 at halftime, the Bucs’ fumble there set up a Chiefs TD drive to extend Kansas City’s lead to 18. Brady would find Evans for his own goal before the break, but the damage was already done.
game of the game
Mahomes has been a magician since his historic breakthrough as a first-time full-time player, but even by his standards, his TD pass (pitch? hurl? toss?) in the second quarter against Clyde Edwards-Helaire was absurd. The athleticism, focus, and sheer courage required to not only attempt something like this, but easily achieve it, is why Mahomes remains the NFL’s model playmaker in this position:
What’s next
The Chiefs (3-1) return to Arrowhead Stadium in Week 5 for a Monday Night Football match with the rival Raiders (1-3), who just claimed their first win of the year by beating the Broncos. The Buccaneers (2-2), meanwhile, remain in Tampa to host the Falcons (2-2), who narrowly defeated the Browns on Sunday.