Chiefs survive OT, Mahomes injury scare to beat Bucs

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs have found their way to 8-0 this season by winning in some improbable ways. Perhaps none of them more unlikely than their 30-24 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on “Monday Night Football” at Arrowhead Stadium.

The Chiefs trailed by seven in the fourth quarter but rallied with two touchdown passes by Patrick Mahomes, who injured his ankle while throwing the first one. He came back out for the next drive to lead a 15-play winning drive that consumed more than eight minutes. Baker Mayfield led the Bucs on a touchdown drive to tie the game in the final minute of regulation, pushing the game to overtime, where the Chiefs scored the first touchdown for an automatic win.

DeAndre Hopkins gave the Chiefs a big early investment on their recent trade with the Tennessee Titans. In his second game with the Chiefs, Hopkins caught eight passes for 86 yards and scored two touchdowns.

Here are the most important things to know from Monday night for both teams:

QB breakdown: Mahomes got his first completion of 20 or more air yards since Week 4 on his 35-yard pass to Hopkins in the first half. But that was Mahomes’ only completion of more than 20 yards. He was also sacked four times.

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Hopkins follows up great catch in traffic with his 1st Chiefs TD

DeAndre Hopkins hauls in a great catch in double coverage, and a few plays later, he gets his first touchdown as a Chief.

Most surprising performance: Kareem Hunt was having a tough game with 16 rushing yards on seven carries in the first half. But he rushed seven times for 47 yards on Kansas City’s game-tying touchdown drive to make it 17-17 with 14:14 left in the game. He finished with 27 carries for 106 yards, including the game-winning score.

Describe the game in two words: Gritty win. The Chiefs and their struggling offense looked to be in trouble trailing by seven points in the fourth quarter. But they cobbled together two touchdown drives, one with a hobbled Mahomes after the ankle injury to take a 24-17 lead before capping off the win in OT. — Adam Teicher

Next game: vs. Broncos (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)

Despite being without their top three wide receivers in Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan, the Bucs almost knocked off the NFL’s only undefeated team, but instead, they have now dropped three straight. Wide receiver Ryan Miller caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Baker Mayfield to tie the game, 24-24. But their defense couldn’t hold on, with a 10-play overtime drive capped off by Hunt’s 2-yard touchdown.

The Bucs drop below .500 for the first time season. They have one more game next week hosting the San Francisco 49ers before their Week 11 bye, and then Evans is expected to return. From there, their schedule gets considerably easier, as just one remaining opponent has a winning record (the Los Angeles Chargers), suggesting they could make another late season push.

QB breakdown: Mayfield completed 23-of-31 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns. The 11-yard touchdown to tight end Cade Otton came in the corner of the end zone with safety Justin Reid in coverage. Like last week, Mayfield relied heavily on Otton and running backs Bucky Irving and Rachaad White in the screen game.

Biggest hole in the game plan: All three of the Chiefs’ touchdowns came on third down, with two pitting Hopkins against Josh Hayes, seeing his first career NFL start after Tyrek Funderburk struggled last week. The Bucs didn’t have any other options, with Jamel Dean on injured reserve with a hamstring injury, but this was a tough assignment. Hayes did, however, recover a Tykee Smith forced fumble on Travis Kelce.

Eye-popping stat: Despite two sacks apiece from defensive tackles Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey, the Bucs took a passive approach to pressuring Mahomes — just like they did in Super Bowl LV. They blitzed on just 13% of Mahomes’ dropbacks through the first three quarters, the second-lowest percentage in Bowles’ time with the Bucs. Bowles’ 11% blitz rate in Super Bowl LV is the lowest of his tenure calling the defense. — Jenna Laine

Next game: vs. 49ers (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)