Chiefs beat Bengals, 26-25 on walk-off Butker field goal

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – Despite a game full of turnovers for the Kansas City Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes and the offense had a chance to win the game with just over two minutes remaining and a two-point deficit against the Cincinnati Bengals.

After a tumultuous afternoon from rookie left tackle Kingsley Suamataia, it was left tackle Wanya Morris who was inserted into the game for Kansas City’s final drive. On a fourth down and 6, Morris got a illegal hands to the face penalty, setting up a 4th-and-16. From there, Mahomes rolled left and flicked a downfield pass for wide receiver Rashee Rice.

An early-arriving defender rammed into the back of Rice, leading to a 29-yard pass interference call that set Kansas City up in field goal range.

From there, kicker Harrison Butker split the uprights from 51 yards out, giving Kansas City a walk-off, 26-25 victory over another AFC rival.

In an AFC battle of rivals, Kansas City routinely created its own problems Sunday. Whether it was Mahomes not seeing a dropping linebacker for an uncharacteristically bad first quarter interception or rookie running back Carson Steele fumbling on a 2nd and 10 carry in the second quarter, Kansas City wasn’t an error-free operation offensively in Week 2.

“We’re not even playing our best football and we’re still getting these wins against great opponents,” said Mahomes following a two-interception performance, the 13th multi-interception game of his NFL career.

Kansas City moved the ball efficiently on the ground, averaging 4.7 yards per carry throughout the afternoon, but a passing game that struggled to block Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson consistently let the Chiefs down.

“Our best plays were called back but it was a great job by (Mahomes),” Reid said after several of the 28-year-old quarterback’s scrambles that found tight end Travis Kelce and wide receiver Rashee Rice for long first downs were called back via penalty. “Turnovers, they kill you. They very seldom give you an opportunity to win the game. To come out of it with a win with three turnovers is a plus, but we’ve gotta take care of business there.”

For large portions of the first half, Kansas City couldn’t get out of its own way. Each of the Chiefs’ two first-half turnovers happened inside their own territory, setting Cincinnati up for short scoring drives.

A first-quarter interception from Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes set up Cincinnati’s first touchdown drive, a seven-play, 31-yard drive that ended with a toe-tapping 4-yard touchdown reception from Bengals wide receiver Andrei Iosivas.

In the second quarter, Steele’s fumble gave the Bengals the ball on the Chiefs 46-yard line. From there, Cincinnati needed just 16 yards to get into range for a 48-yard Evan McPherson field goal.

On Kansas City’s opening drive of the second half, head coach Andy Reid got into his bag of tricks, utilizing a formation with linebacker Leo Chenal playing fullback and backup offensive tackle Wanya Morris as an eligible receiver. A play-action fake opened Morris up for a wide-open 1-yard touchdown reception, giving Kansas City a 17-16 advantage.

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Morris’ touchdown reception wasn’t his only playing action of the day. Late in the fourth quarter, he was inserted into the game at left tackle in lieu of rookie second-round draft pick Kingsley Suamataia, who Reid said will grow from the experience of being benched.

“Kingsley was going up against arguably one of the best defensive ends in the league,” Reid said. “It will be a great experience he can put away and learn from. I ended up taking him out of the game because sometimes you’ve got to take a step back to take a step forward.”

A second Iosivas touchdown of the game came on fourth and goal from the Chiefs 3-yard line with 2:16 remaining in the third quarter. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was able to extend the play with a non-existent Chiefs pass rush giving him several seconds to find Iosivas, who lost Chiefs cornerback Joshua Williams on the play to give Cincinnati a 22-17 lead.

Early in the fourth quarter, a 37-yard scoop-and-score touchdown for safety Chamarri Conner helped the Chiefs regain a lead, giving Kansas City a 23-22 advantage that would only last for five minutes. Cincinnati answered with an 8-play drive that went 33 yards and resulted in a 53-yard Evan McPherson field goal, which gave the Bengals a 25-23 lead.

READ MORE: Chiefs bench Suamataia late in Week 2 win over Bengals

The late 29-yard defensive pass interference happened with 48 seconds remaining and the Chiefs trailing by 2, a deficit that was the result of a failed two-point conversion following KC’s scoop-and-score. It set up Butker’s game-winning field goal, in similar fashion to the 2022 AFC Championship Game.

“I knew I had 15 dropping back and a lot of space on the field,” Rice said of the play that resulted in a chunk of penalty yardage against the Bengals. “They threw that flag. Regular pass interference rules. Contact before the ball.”

The chunk of yardage gained via the Mahomes to Rice pass interference ball was the second significant pass of the game, after Mahomes knotted the score at 10-10 in the second quarter with a 44-yard touchdown reception to Rice, lofted beautifully over the arms of a Bengals defender.

“That was definitely a dime,” Rice said. “I had an inside-outside release and Pat just found me. He threw it where the safety couldn’t make a play.”

“They gave me a two-high look and I was going to shoot it to Trav (Kelce) in the middle of the field,” Mahomes said. “The backside safety kind of closed in and that’s what got my eyes to Rashee and he won against a great corner. That’s what you want to see. I’ve told you all he can do a lot more things and I’m going to keep giving him opportunities and he’s going to keep making plays.”

In all, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was 18-for-25 with 151 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. It was Mahomes’ first game with less than 200 yards passing since a 21-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Nov. 20, 2023.

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow finished the game 23-for-36 with 258 yards, 2 touchdowns and a lost fumble.

Next week, the Chiefs (2-0) will head to Atlanta to take on the Falcons (0-1). Atlanta will be coming off a short week of rest as they play Monday night against the Eagles on the road. The Week 3 matchup will kick off at 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC.

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