The Kansas City Chiefs finally have their first win of the season, scoring a pair of touchdowns in the second half to defeat the New York Giants 22-9 on Sunday, Sept. 21 at The Meadowlands in New Jersey.
It was a tale of two halves for Kansas City, as the Chiefs struggled to get their drives into the red zone. Harrison Butker put the first points on the board for KC, with a field goal of 54 yards clanging the left upright but falling over the crossbar. would then score on a 48-yard field goal, but saw his next attempt from 40 yards sail wide to the right. The Chiefs defense would find themselves struggling with two culprits on the next drive: themselves, by way of two of the team’s eight penalties gifting the Giants 20 yards, and running back Cam Skattebo, who capped the drive with a 13-yard touchdown run. A blocked PAT kept the score tied at six. The Chiefs would intercept Russell Wilson twice in the second quarter, with the second pick setting up a go-ahead field goal from 28 yards as time expired.
The Chiefs showed a stronger resolve in the second half, coming out of the locker room to go on an 11-play, 74-yard drive that took 6:38, capped by a five-yard Mahomes pass to Tyquan Thornton. After exchanging punts, the Giants made it a one-possession game with an injured Graham Gano booting a 25-yard field goal.
The Chiefs then went on another touchdown drive, aided by a pair of long pass plays from Mahomes to Thornton, setting up Kareem Hunt’s one-yard touchdown run. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Hunt’s touchdown celebration doomed the PAT attempt. The Giants turned the ball over on downs on their final two drives to seal the game for Kansas City, the first time the Chiefs had beaten the Giants in New York.
The Chiefs defense limited the Giants to one-for-ten on third down, while the offense converted on eight of 15 attempts. The Chiefs outgained the Giants 306 yards to 281, with Mahomes going 22-for-37 in the air, totaling 201 yards and one touchdown. Thornton led all receivers with five catches for 71 yards, while Isiah Pacheco carried the ball 10 times for 45 yards in his home state. The Giants’ Skattebo was both the leading receiver and rusher, rushing for ten carries for 60 yards and a touchdown while adding 61 in the air off six catches.
The Chiefs are now 1-2 and will host Baltimore next week at Arrowhead Stadium. Pregame coverage Sunday begins at 2 p.m. on KMMO-FM 102.9, with kickoff around 3:25 p.m.