Both the Atlanta Falcons and Kansas City Chiefs enjoyed last-minute victories in Week 2. A week later, going head to head at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the two squads went to the wire once more, but this time, only the Chiefs came out on top. Kirk Cousins and Co. struck first in the prime-time affair, and the Falcons threatened to swipe a lead with another two-minute push, but Patrick Mahomes leaned on an explosive Rashee Rice, plus a blitz-heavy Steve Spagnuolo defense, to prevail with a 22-17 victory for the reigning Super Bowl champions.
Rice briefly exited Sunday night's contest with an apparent injury but finished the game with 12 catches for 111 yards and a touchdown, leading a diversified K.C. attack that also featured 15 carries for rookie running back Carson Steele, who led the backfield in place of the injured Isiah Pacheco. Both Drake London and Darnell Mooney secured at least six catches for Atlanta, which struggled to convert on key downs during a final offensive series despite several chain-moving penalties in their favor.
The Chiefs retain their place atop the AFC with the win, improving to 3-0 on the year, while the Falcons failed to move into a three-way tie atop the NFC South, dropping to 1-2 alongside the Carolina Panthers.
Here are some top takeaways from Sunday's matchup:
Give it to the entire Chiefs defense, which worked together to force Cousins into a pick just before halftime. Tershawn Wharton applied the initial heat up the gut of the pocket, then Chamarri Conner snagged the easy interception before smartly handing it off to teammate Jaylen Watson for a longer return.
He handed it off after the INT 😂
— NFL (@NFL) September 23, 2024
📺: #KCvsATL on NBC/Peacock
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The Chiefs aren't necessarily firing on all cylinders with the ball in their hands; Mahomes threw his fourth pick in three games early against Atlanta, Steele was just serviceable as the lead ball-carrier in place of Pacheco, and star tight end Travis Kelce remained relatively quiet. One thing's for sure, though: Mahomes has himself a bona fide No. 1 out wide in Rice, who was even better than his gaudy numbers (12-111-1) suggest. After Sunday's big outing, the second-year pass catcher now leads all NFL wideouts in yards after catch and missed tackles forced.
It's kind of a weird thing to say, considering the veteran had basically a flawless setup in his Week 2 comeback against the Eagles, enjoying both steady ground support and a clutch finish from his wideouts. But that's also the reality with a 36-year-old pocket passer: If the pocket isn't clean, you're in trouble. On Sunday night, it mostly wasn't, especially as the game wore on. Cousins, for his part, kept the ball on target, feeding London and Mooney at some critical spots. Late-game blocking and play-calling, particularly on the final drive, didn't help.
A 1-2 record isn't pretty, especially in the NFC South, where you'd at least expect the Falcons to be on par with the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Let's remember this was the third game of the Cousins/Morris era. Against the reigning champions, right after an upset of a potential contender in the Eagles. The Falcons have legitimately been in every game, and Morris' defense -- the rangy secondary, in particular -- almost did enough to swipe one. In other words, don't count this group out of a scrappy run just yet.
The Chiefs (3-0) will hit the road to meet the rival Chargers (2-1), who lost Justin Herbert and several other key starters to injury on Sunday. The Falcons (1-2) will stay at home to play host to the rival Saints (2-1), who were outmuscled by the Eagles in a defensive back-and-forth on Sunday.
That'll do it. 22-17 Chiefs.
Kansas City improves to 3-0. The Chiefs will head to SoFi Stadium to take on the Chargers next week.
The Falcons drop to 1-2. Atlanta hosts the Saints next week.
Huge stop by Nick Bolton on fourth down, chasing down Bijan Robinson behind the line of scrimmage. And now that timeout comes back to haunt the Falcons, as Kansas City can probably kneel out the clock.
VERY strange timeout from the Falcons here. Why are you trying to stop the clock? There's plenty of time remaining and you either want to score with 0:00 on the clock are have all three timeouts in the event you don't score.
Kansas City was penalized on two of the Falcons' three snaps ahead of the two-minute warning. Along with a 12-yard completion to Drake London, those plays have moved the Falcons from their own 35-yard line to the Chiefs' 37. And then ANOTHER penalty on the second play after the two-minute. Falcons are just outside the red zone now.
Atlanta got all the way down to the 6-yard line on its 15-play, 83-yard drive, but stalled out there thanks to back-to-back blitzes on third and fourth down that forced Cousins to throw the ball a bit short of Kyle Pitts and then Drake London. Pitts was arguably interfered with by Brian Cook on the third-down pass. Sure looked like it could/should have been PI to me.
The Falcons have all three of their timeouts left, so the Chiefs have their work cut out for them as they try to run out the clock with 4:04 remaining here.
Good choice by Raheem Morris to go for it on fourth down instead of sending the kicker out to make it a 2-point game. Defensive coaches often go conservative in that spot; good for Morris for staying aggressive and playing to win, rather than lose by less.
Falcons return man Avery Williams caught a punt off the bounce and initially appeared to have fumbled and given the Chiefs possession inside the 10-yard line, but it was quickly overturned on review because his elbow hit the ground. Big break for the Falcons, who now have a chance to drive and retake the lead.
Atlanta's banged-up offensive line is an ISSUE here. Steve Spagnuolo is overwhelming that group with blitzes and Cousins just does not have time or the mobility to buy more of it for himself.
Outside of the 50-yard scramble drill catch by Kyle Pitts, the Falcons have 137 yards on 28 plays. Less than ideal. 4.5 yards per play would have tied the Giants for 30th in the NFL last season. Atlanta's offense has mostly been flowing through Darnell Mooney, which is a win for Kansas City's defense. Bijan Robinson has just 41 total yards on 12 touches, and Drake London has 2 catches for 24 yards.
The Chiefs were just 1 for 3 on their red zone trips coming into this drive, as the Falcons defense had buckled down several times to force field goals. But after their best playmaker had to come off the field due to an injury, the found a way to get into the end zone anyway. JuJu Smith-Schuster resumed his role from two years ago and took a short crosser into the end zone for a touchdown. Harrison Butker missed the extra point, though, so it remains a one-score lead.
Rashee Rice has been peppered with underneath targets all night, and he finally got open for a deep look to move the Chiefs into Falcons territory. As Cris Collinsworth showcased on the broadcast, it was made possible by a fantastic blitz pickup from Carson Steele.
The Chiefs marched right down the field and nearly into the end zone, but Kansas City got too cute in the low red zone and came away with another field goal instead of a touchdown. Atlanta tackled Carson Steele before he hit the goal line on a direct snap, then again out of the wishbone formation. On third down, Mahomes had to scramble away from pressure and throw it out the back of the end zone.
Travis Kelce had 2 catches for 4 yards in the first half. He's got 2 catches for 26 yards on this drive alone, helping get Kansas City quickly into the red zone with a chance to take the lead.
Falcons OL update here. It'll be backups at center at right tackle for a unit that has already been having issues tonight.
Atlanta held strong on the short field after Cousins' interception, limiting the Chiefs to a 44-yard field goal. The Falcons will take a 1-point lead into the break, while Kansas City will get the ball to start the third quarter.
The Falcons' offensive line is getting overwhelmed by Kansas City's defensive front. Tershawn Wharton just pushed a man back into Cousins' lap, knocked the throw up in the air, and it was intercepted by Chamarri Conner. (Oh, and Conner handed it off to Jaylen Watson to pick up some extra yards on the return.)
The Chiefs got pretty good field position for a two-minute drive, but quickly went three-and-out after Mahomes was pressured and had to throw the ball away on second down, then threw behind a wide-open Rashee Rice on third down. Kansas City had a chance to take the lead to end the half and then extend it with the opening possession of the third quarter, but now needs a stop to prevent the Falcons from expanding their own lead.
After Kaleb McGary got injured toward the tail end of the Falcons' previous drive, they now saw center Drew Dalman get rolled up on as well. (Melissa Stark reported on the broadcast that McGary has a knee injury and has just been sitting on the bench, not testing it out yet.) It looks like Ryan Neuzil will come in for Dalman after the two-minute warning.
Kansas City talked repeatedly this offseason about wanting to open up the offense and get back to throwing the ball downfield. Losing Hollywood Brown has obviously affected things, but the downfield passing attack has not been there so far this season or tonight, for the most part. Mahomes is averaging 5.5 yards per attempt tonight and his air yards per attempt average is third-lowest in the NFL to date.
Pitts had been incredibly quiet in this game, with just one target through the first 23 minutes of play. He finally sprung loose in the secondary on a scramble drill, and Cousins found him for a 50-yard gain down to the 1-yard line. Bijan Robinson punched it into the end zone on the next step. Falcons back in the lead.
The Chiefs benefitted from a roughing the passer penalty on their last drive, and it resulted in the Mahomes-to-Rice touchdown. Kansas City thought it had a third-down stop and forced the Falcons to go three-and-out, but Chris Jones got called for roughing the passer, and the Falcons get new life on this possession.
After running 17 plays and marching 75 yards before Mahomes was intercepted on the opening drive, the Chiefs went 79 yards on 13 plays, and found themselves in the end zone. On third-and-4, Mahomes found Rashee Rice on a speed out, and Rice had a bunch of open space in front of him to cross the goal line. Rice already has 5 catches for 54 yards and a score.
That makes four (4) interceptions for Patrick Mahomes in less than three full games. The stars aren't immune to killer turnovers this year. Jalen Hurts and Jared Goff also threw their fourth picks of the season today.
While the Falcons went 70 yards incredibly quickly, the Chiefs took 17 PLAYS to move 75 yards on their opening possession. Alas, the drive ended in disappointment, as Mahomes was picked off by ... who else? Justin Simmons. Simmons has intercepted Mahomes more often than has any other player in the league. That's his SIXTH career pick of Mahomes.
Atlanta marched right down the field with incredible ease on its first possession of the game. 7 plays, 70 yards and a touchdown. Kirk Cousins went 5 of 5 for 66 yards, including this touchdown to Drake London on a fake-screen wheel route up the left sideline.
Here are a few key things to pay attention to tonight:
No surprises for the Falcons here either.
No surprises for Kansas City. The reigning champions will be without Isiah Pacheco, though, and are expected to use Carson Steele and Samaje Perine in the backfield.
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