The Kansas City Chiefs secured their first win of the season on Sunday night by defeating the New York Giants, 22-9, at MetLife Stadium.
Leading by three points heading into halftime, quarterback Patrick Mahomes transformed the Chiefs' slim advantage into a double-digit lead when he found wide receiver Tyquan Thornton for a 5-yard touchdown on Kansas City's opening series of the third quarter.
New York later managed to trim the Chiefs' lead to seven points early in the fourth quarter, but another scoring drive on Kansas City's ensuing possession – which culminated in a 1-yard touchdown run by tailback Kareem Hunt – essentially put the game away.
"[This was] a good win to get, [especially] when you hadn't had one," said Head Coach Andy Reid. "That was important to take a step forward. The second quarter was hard to watch there, but in the third and fourth quarter, I thought our guys really came together and played well."
Indeed, the Chiefs moved the ball early in the game, but despite driving into Giants' territory on each of its first three possessions, Kansas City only came away with six total points to show for it. New York then tied the game with tailback Cam Skattebo broke free for a 13-yard touchdown run, but Kansas City quickly pulled back ahead when kicker Harrison Butker connected on a 28-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.
Fortunately for Kansas City, despite struggling to find a rhythm offensively through the first two quarters of play, the defense turned in another outstanding effort that held New York to a 1-for-10 mark on third down. Specifically, the duo of wide receivers Malik Nabers and Wan'Dale Robinson – who combined for 17 receptions, 309 yards and three touchdowns last week – recorded just three catches for 39 yards between them on Sunday night.
Additionally, the go-ahead scoring drive at the end of the first half was made possible by cornerback Jaylen Watson, who picked off Giants' quarterback Russell Wilson in the end zone in what ended up constituting a 10-point swing. Watson was one of two players to tally an interception on the night for Kansas City, joining defensive back Chris Roland-Wallace.
"They've played great these last two weeks. They've played winning football," Mahomes said of his defense. "If they can continue to do that, and if we can clean some stuff up [offensively], we're going to win a lot of football games."
Mahomes and the rest of the offense ensured that the defense's stellar performance wasn't wasted when Thornton hauled in Mahomes' 5-yard scoring strike to begin the second half. It was part of a big night for Thornton, who caught a team-leading five passes for 71 yards, three of which moved the chains on third down.
Notably, Thornton caught a 21-yard pass on 3rd-and-6 during the Chiefs' second touchdown drive before hauling in a 33-yard catch on 3rd-and-10 a bit later in that same series, ultimately setting up Hunt's game-sealing touchdown run.
"He's showing some things," said Coach Reid when asked about Thornton's performance. "He's come in here and done nothing but work hard, so it's nice to see him getting an opportunity."
In terms of injuries, Coach Reid reported following the game that the Chiefs exited with a clean bill of health. Reid added that safety Bryan Cook, who left the game early with a neck injury, "was OK."
Next up, the Chiefs will have an opportunity to even their record with a matchup against the Baltimore Ravens this upcoming Sunday on deck.
