It took six minutes of overtime but Kansas City Chiefs continued their best start in the Patrick Mahomes era with a 30-24 win on “Monday Night Football” over the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Chiefs’ star quarterback gave fans a scare in the second half after planting awkwardly on a touchdown pass to Samaje Perine but came back into the game soon after to lead Kansas City to its 14th consecutive win (regular season and playoffs).
Mahomes relied on tight end Travis Kelce, who set a career-high with 14 catches in the win, but also welcomed trade acquisition DeAndre Hopkins to Kansas City with a standout performance. Hopkins set season-highs with eight catches for 86 yards and two touchdowns in his first home game as a Chief.
Tampa Bay scored the first touchdown of the game with Kansas City native Rachaad White finding the end zone from seven yards out. Mahomes found Hopkins on the ensuing drive to take a 10-7 lead before halftime.
Tampa Bay came out strong in the second half with two consecutive scoring drives. A touchdown pass to Cade Otton and a 47-yard field goal by Chase McLaughlin gave the Buccaneers a 17-10 lead.
But Kansas City responded in kind with a 12-play touchdown drive to tie it up. The defense forced a three-and-out and the Chiefs offense slowly worked its way down the field for a touchdown to take the lead late on another Mahomes pass to Hopkins.
Tampa Bay responded with a late touchdown pass from Baker Mayfield to Ryan Miller to force overtime. Kansas City won the coin toss and drove down the field on a 10-play drive to seal the victory on a 2-yard touchdown run by Kareem Hunt.
Kansas City (8-0) remains the final undefeated team in the NFL after Week 9. The Chiefs haven’t lost since Christmas Day last season and will face AFC West foe Denver (5-4) at home next week.
Tampa Bay (4-5) drops two games behind in the NFC South race. The Buccaneers head home for a game against San Francisco (4-4) in a critical matchup for both teams in the NFC playoff race.
