ATLANTA (AP) – Patrick Mahomes threw a pair of touchdown passes and Kansas City’s defense made a couple of late stands to keep the Chiefs unbeaten with a 22-17 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday night.
The two-time reigning Super Bowl champion Chiefs (3-0) have been far from perfect – Mahomes threw another interception – but they won their first three games by a combined 13 points.
Thank the defense for this one.
Coming off an upset victory at Philadelphia, the Falcons (1-2) had a couple of shots at the go-ahead touchdown in the closing minutes.
Kirk Cousins threw a pair of incompletions in the end zone from the Chiefs 6 to end one chance, and the final Atlanta drive ended with Bijan Robinson being thrown for a 3-yard loss on fourth-and-1 at the Kansas City 13 with less than a minute remaining.
Mahomes threw for 217 yards, including scoring throws to Rashee Rice and JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Harrison Butker booted three field goals for the Chiefs.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) is hit by Atlanta Falcons linebacker Arnold Ebiketie (17) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Cousins was 20 of 29 for 230 yards with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Drake London and a 50-yard completion to Kyle Pitts that set up Robinson’s 1-yard scoring run.
Carrying on the momentum from their last-minute stunner at Philadelphia, Cousins and the Falcons took the opening kickoff and quickly drove 70 yards for a touchdown.
Cousins completed all five of his passes for 66 yards, including a 14-yard scoring toss to Drake London – who also caught the winning score against the Eagles. London wound up all alone in the end zone on a busted coverage by the Chiefs.
Three games into his third season, London became the fastest player in Falcons history to reach 150 career receptions.
Mahomes responded with a long drive of his own, taking the Chiefs 75 in 17 plays but failing to come away with any points. Going for Noah Gray in the end zone, Mahomes was intercepted by Justin Simmons – the fourth pick of the season for the Chiefs star quarterback.
But Mahomes bounced back from that miscue to push Kansas City all the way to the end zone. A 13-play, 79-yard possession ended with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Rice.
The Falcons reclaimed the lead on Robinson´s 1-yard touchdown run, which was set up by Cousins´ 50-yard pass to Kyle Pitts.
But Atlanta´s offensive line took a pair of hits when right tackle Kaleb McGary and center Drew Dalman both went out with injuries. With a pair of backups joining their ranks, the guys up from struggled to keep the pressure off Cousins, who was sacked twice and hit 10 more times as he threw, spending much of the night picking himself off the turf at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
One of those hits resulted in a wobbly pass that was picked off by Chamarri Conner, setting up Butker’s 44-yard field goal that sliced the Falcons´ edge to 14-13 at halftime.
Butker put the Chiefs ahead to stay on a 21-yard chip shot in the third quarter, and Kansas City stretched the lead on Mahomes´ 13-yard touchdown pass to Smith-Schuster late in the third quarter.
INJURY REPORT
Chiefs: LB Nick Bolton hobbled off the field in the fourth quarter, but came back to make the big stop on Robinson.
Falcons: McGary and Dalman both went out in the second quarter. McGary was helped off the field with a knee injury and replaced by Storm Norton. Dalman was replaced by Ryan Neuzil after being sidelined with an ankle issue.
UP NEXT
Chiefs: Stay on the road for another week when they visit Los Angeles next Sunday to face the Chargers (2-1) in an AFC West matchup.
Falcons: Play the second of three straight home games when their NFC South rival, the New Orleans Saints (2-1), visit Atlanta next Sunday.
Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts (8) misses the catch against Kansas City Chiefs safety Bryan Cook (6) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes works in the pocket against the Atlanta Falcons during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) works in the pocket against the Kansas City Chiefs during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) is hit by Atlanta Falcons offensive tackle Jake Matthews (70) against the Kansas City Chiefs during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Drake London (5) loses the ball but recovers against Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton (32) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) runs out of the pocket as Atlanta Falcons linebacker Matthew Judon (15) defends during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Drake London (5) runs against Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Jaylen Watson (35) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster (9) celebrates his touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Drake London (5) misses the catch in the end zone against Kansas City Chiefs safety Bryan Cook (6) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) celebrates the touchdown by wide receiver Rashee Rice (4) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
