KANSAS CITY, Mo. — KSHB 41 reporter Tod Palmer covers sports business and eastern Jackson County, including Independence. Share your story idea with Tod.
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On the first three drives Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium, Patrick Mahomes and the offense looked unstoppable.
The first two drives produced touchdowns, but the game flipped after the Miami Dolphins’ defense stuffed Kenneth Walker III for no gain on consecutive snaps — third- and fourth-and-1 from the 12-yard line.
Kansas City’s plan to steamroll its way to victory turned into a slog from that moment forward en route to a 24-10 win.
The Chiefs had marched up and down the field at will to that point, building a 14-7 lead and racking up 171 yards on 20 plays — a healthy 8.6-yard average — but the offense’s momentum stalled from there.
Kansas City managed only 10 points, none until the fourth quarter, and 163 yards the rest of the way.
While the Chiefs still averaged 5.6 yards per play across those six drives, penalties, turnovers and an ineffective run game between the tackles conspired to stall drives
“Obviously, we didn’t play to our standard that we would hold for ourselves, especially in that middle part offensively of the game — kind of second quarter through third quarter,” Mahomes said. “But I thought we found a way to come together at the end of the game.”
That might be the lesson the Chiefs take from last season.
It won’t go down as one of Patrick Mahomes’ greatest moments, but there’s no reason to sulk on the flight home either.
“I wouldn’t say I feel disappointed,” Mahomes said. “I’m happy for the win. Last year taught me that you can’t be disappointed when you win football games. You have to enjoy every single one of them, enjoy the plane ride back — everything like that. But I know we can be better; I know we can get better.”
Three games into the season, Kansas City’s identity is still coalescing.
Buoyed by Mahomes’ return to the field nine months to the day after surgery to repair torn ligaments in his left knee, the season opened with a Monday night crescendo against Denver — a pulsating 31-10 win.
The defense cratered, but the offense did enough to survive in overtime last week against Indianapolis.
The win in Miami, a game Kansas City was expected to handle with relative ease, was unremarkable for both the offense and defense, except as experience for a young group that had never tasted life on the road in the NFL.
“It’ll be a learning experience for us — to know that we have to come with our ‘A’ game every single time in order to win,” Mahomes said. “But at the end of the day, we’re 3-0. ... There will be learning experiences throughout the season. Luckily enough for us, we still won the football game.”
Mahomes said the offense “left a lot out there,” but they’ve now dominated a game (Broncos), rallied from behind (Colts), and survived without playing their best (Dolphins).
“We’re not going to be mad about winning,” Mahomes said. “... You think about last season, we were losing some of these games, so we’re not going to be mad about winning. But we’re going to look at the tape hard and find ways to get better for next week.”
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