The Kansas City Chiefs won a thrilling, back-and-forth, 33-30 overtime battle with the Indianapolis Colts for their second win of the season on the Week 2 edition of "Sunday Night Football."
Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker avenged a missed field goal from earlier in the game by nailing a 40-yarder to clinch it as time expired.
The Chiefs -- after putting three points on the board on their first overtime possession -- nearly iced the game defensively with a fumble recovery, but a critical call overturned the loose ball and set the Colts up in field goal range. Kicker Spencer Shrader then cashed in to tie the game back up, but the Colts left enough time on the clock for Patrick Mahomes and Co. to go win the game -- which they did thanks to a Kenneth Walker III catch-and-run that set up Butker's kick.
In regulation, it was the Patrick Mahomes and Jonathan Taylor show. The Chiefs quarterback fired three touchdown passes, all from inside the red zone, while the Colts running back kept pace with two rushing scores -- the second of which tied the game at 27 late in the fourth quarter and forced the extra period.
It promising for the Colts that they were able to move the ball fairly well without their No. 1 wide receiver as Alec Pierce sustained a heel injury toward the end of the first quarter and did not return. Pierce could not put any weight on his left leg when he left the field, and after a 10-minute evaluation in the medical tent, trainers carted him into the locker room for X-rays. Indy still managed 329 yards in his absence, but it wasn't enough.
However, the Chiefs offense was just too much for the Colts defense to handle. Kansas City ripped off 523 total yards, and got seven different receivers involved in its 382-yard passing attack. The passing game was by a vintage Mahomes-Travis Kelce effort that defined the evening. The legends linked up nine times for 101 yards and a touchdown in the win.
CBS Sports was with you all night throughout the Chiefs' victory. Below are our takeaways from the game plus highlights and analysis of key moments.
After he largely struggled to get things going through the air in the opener against Denver, Mahomes looked like vintage Mahomes for much of this game. He went 32 of 47 for 382 yards and three touchdowns.
He was completing deep balls down the field, finding Travis Kelce in short and intermediate zones, connecting with his running backs in the flat, changing arm angles to deliver the ball. He even had a huge scramble to set the Chiefs up with a red-zone opportunity. It was everything you hoped you'd see from Mahomes returning from injury. He was fantastic all night long.
He connected on touchdown passes with Travis Kelce, Jalen Royals and Xavier Worthy, all in the red zone. All three touchdown passes moved the Chiefs from being behind to being in the lead. But the biggest plays were undoubtedly a pair of deep shots to Tyquan Thornton, who had a highly impactful game with four catches for 86 yards.
The first shot play saw Mahomes hit the Colts over the top down to the 1-yard line, which later set up Royals' touchdown catch.
The second shot to Thornton came on third-and-12 in overtime, and it eventually led to Kansas City's first field goal of the extra period.
That's two big plays setting up 10 points, but even outside of that, it was just good to see Mahomes connecting on deep balls again after struggling to hook up with his receivers on those plays over the past few seasons.
The wildest play of the night came on the Colts' first snap of overtime. Daniel Jones faked a hand-off to Jonathan Taylor and hit Laquon Treadwell with a bomb over the top of the Kansas City defense for 48 yards. At first, it seemed as though Treadwell was not touched before he went to the ground, then got up and fumbled the ball away to Kansas City, ending the game. Alas, the play was reviewed and it was determined that Treadwell was touched on his way to the ground, meaning the Colts got to keep the ball.
Immediately after that...
After hitting the Chiefs over the top and getting deep into Kansas City territory, Shane Steichen tried to get the ball into his best player's hands. He called back-to-back runs up the middle for Jonathan Taylor, but each of those runs was stuffed for a loss. That set up third-and-13 from the 20-yard line. Jones then scrambled away from pressure for a 5-yard gain on third-and-long, setting up fourth-and-8.
Steichen called a timeout before the next play, and actually sent his offense back out onto the field for fourth down from the 15-yard line. But he didn't like the look he got from the Chiefs at the line of scrimmage and eventually took a delay of game penalty, then sent Spencer Schrader out onto the field for a game-tying field goal.
Of course, all that did was leave Mahomes enough time to get the Chiefs into range for another Harrison Butker field goal, which the Chiefs took full advantage of and eventually won the game as time expired. The chances of converting fourth-and-8 aren't great, obviously, but neither are the chances of stopping the Chiefs' offense from getting into field goal range if you tie the game and then kick the ball back to them -- especially given the way Mahomes and Co. moved the ball on Sunday night. (They piled up 523 yards and averaged 6.7 yards per play.)
Kelce had himself a huge game in this one. He was Mahomes' top target throughout the evening, and he ended the night with 9 catches for 101 yards and a touchdown on his 11 targets.
He looks to be in much better shape than he was a year ago, when he posted his lowest catch-per-game average (4.5) since 2015 and how lowest yards-per-game average (50.1) ever. The Colts played a lot of zone coverage in this game, and that allowed Kelce to take advantage by finding soft spots and even creating a bunch of yards after the catch, which was a nice throwback. It didn't quite look like prime Travis Kelce, but it looked damn good.
Not to be outdone, but Jonathan Taylor and Kenneth Walker III had big nights of their own.
Taylor ran for 94 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and he added another 40 yards on four catches. Taylor's first touchdown run was a thing of beauty, as he showed great patience as the run developed and then shot through the hole for a 24-yard score.
Walker, meanwhile, followed up his monster season opener with another terrific performance. He ran 24 times for 117 yards, clipping off 4.9 yards per carry. He also hauled in six passes for 61 yards, including a 22-yarder that got the Chiefs into range for the game-winning field goal.
The Chiefs are 2-0 and sit tied with the Las Vegas Raiders (!) atop the AFC West. Next week, they head on the road for the first time this season as they travel to Miami to take on the Dolphins and look to improve to 3-0.
The Colts, meanwhile, dropped to 0-2 and sit tied with the Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans at the bottom of the AFC South. They host the Texans next week as they attempt to avoid falling to 0-3.
Harrison Butker drills a 40-yard field goal as time expires in overtime to push the Chiefs to 2-0. Picture-perfect final drive of overtime for the Chiefs, who moved the ball 46 yards to set up the game-winning kick. Big play was a third-and-1 pass to Kenneth Walker in the flat for a nice catch-and-run.
The Colts got stoned on back-to-back runs to start their series deep in KC territory. Daniel Jones then scrambled for a few yards to set up fourth-and-8. Shane Steichen then sent the offense back out there, only to take a delay of game penalty and set up a Schrader field goal to tie the game. Next score wins.
Absolutely WILD play on the Colts' first play of overtime. Daniel Jones hits Laquon Treadwell on a deep ball over the top for a huge gain. Treadwell bobbled the ball so it seemed like he wasn't touched before going down to the ground, and then he FUMBLED it away... After review, though, the refs determined that Treadwell WAS touched while going to the ground. Colts keep the ball and have a chance to win in scoring territory.
Kansas City drove deep into Colts territory thanks mostly to a third-and-12 conversion from Mahomes to Tyquan Thornton but stalled in the red zone. Mahomes' third-down pass for Kenneth Walker fell incomplete and all of Arrowhead Stadium wanted a flag, but it didn't look like pass interference or holding on TV. Harrison Butker knocked a field goal through to put the Chiefs up by 3 in OT.
After four quarters, the game is all tied up. The Colts had a chance with third-and-4 near midfield on their final drive, but Daniel Jones was heavily pressured and had to throw the ball away. The Chiefs were then left with not quite enough time to get into field goal range.
Huge drive for the Colts after the Kansas City field goal ends with Taylor's second rushing score of the night. 19 carries for 83 yards and a pair of touchdowns for JT. The drive included a fourth-down conversion after a controversial ball spot on a third-down pass to Keenan Allen.
Kansas City tacked on a short field goal to extend its lead out to 7 points. Backup RB Emmett Johnson had a really nice drive (27 yards on three touches) to help get Kansas City into scoring range but a holding penalty stalled things out and the Chiefs had to settle for three points.
Sauce got run over by Travis Kelce at the tail end of a long catch-and-run on a screen pass. Trainers are examining him on the field.
Royals had just 2 catches for 4 yards as a rookie. He's already got 2 grabs for 6 yards tonight, and now he has a touchdown as well. After a 45-yard deep ball from Mahomes to Tyquan Thornton, Kenneth Walker was stopped three times in a row from the 1-yard line. The Chiefs went for it on fourth down, and Royals ran the back of the end zone for the touchdown catch from Mahomes on a play-action pass.
The Colts opened the game with a touchdown pass from Daniel Jones to Tyler Warren and closed it with a touchdown run by Jonathan Taylor. Daniel Jones went 10 of 16 for 78 yards, one touchdown and one interception, while Taylor ran 14 times for 75 yards and a score.
The Chiefs went extremely pass heavy in the first half, with Patrick Mahomes going 14 of 19 for 138 yards and a pair of touchdowns, one each to Travis Kelce and Xavier Worthy. Kenneth Walker ran just six times for 39 yards after his opening-week explosion against the Broncos.
It took just about no time for the Colts to re-take the lead. They went 72 yards on six plays and ran only 1:26 off the clock as Taylor scored from 24 yards out. He has 13 carries for 74 yards and a touchdown before halftime.
Kansas City put together its best drive of the night. 12 plays, 70 yards and a 1-yard touchdown pass from Mahomes to Worthy off a well-designed play-action fake that the Colts defense bit on because of the threat posed by Kenneth Wallker. Walker and Travis Kelce each had a pair of catches on the drive. Worthy also had a 4-yard reception to get KC down to the goal line, so the Chiefs rewarded him with the score.
Pierce has been ruled OUT with his heel injury.
Indy drove the ball to just outside the red zone but then went backwards with multiple penalties on third-and-long. The Colts ended up settling for a 49-yard Schrader field goal to grab the lead back.
Pierce was carted off the field due to the aforementioned heel injury, per the NBC broadcast. He is QUESTIONABLE to return.
After a Travis Kelce drop on third-and-3, the Chiefs trotted out Butker for a 51-yard field goal try and he hooked it. Game stays tied.
Indy's drive stalled out inside scoring range. Daniel Jones found Keenan Allen over the middle on third-and-long for what would have been a nice gain, but Alohi Gilman tipped the ball out of Allen's hands and forced an incomplete pass. Spencer Schrader connected from 42 yards out to tie the game.
Pierce had ankle surgery this offseason and missed the entire offseason program and most of training camp. He's also been dealing with a heel injury lately. Melissa Stark said on the NBC broadcast that Pierce was not putting weight on his leg as he was helped to the medical tent. This is worth keeping an eye on.
It took Kansas City just two plays to take advantage of the interception. Walker ran for a few yards up the middle and then Kelce beat Justin Walley on a quick out route from the inside and there was nobody between him and the end zone.
Fulton straight up ran the route for Keenan Allen and just ripped the ball away from him. Really impressive play.
Kansas City got off to a hot start on its first drive with back-to-back big plays by Kenneth Walker (19-yard run) and Xavier Worthy (16-yard catch), but quickly stalled out in field goal range. Patrick Mahomes' second-down pass went through Worthy's hands over the middle and his third-down passes was batted down at the line. Harrison Butker connected from 46 yards out.
Surgical opening drive for Indianapolis, which actually did something similar last week against the Ravens. The drive goes 11 plays, 65 yards and ends with Daniel Jones finding Tyler Warren for six from a yard out. The pass came on a beautifully-designed play from Shane Steichen, using a pitch to Jonathan Taylor (5 carries for 22 yards on the drive) as a decoy. (It's worth noting that the Colts won the toss and elected to start with the ball, then quickly moved it downfield and scored right away.)
Check out our full preview of this game right here:
Jones went 19 of 31 for 166 yards, one touchdown and one interception against the Ravens, and he also took a pair of sacks. He ran the ball just once, for four yards. He seemed to struggle to drive the ball to the wide sides of the field, getting too much air under it several times and missing the mark. He did connect with Alec Pierce for four completions for 61 yards on Pierce's limited snaps, but the passing game was otherwise completely bottled up.
Walker had seven carries on the first drive alone last Monday, and finished the night with 23 totes for 173 yards and a touchdown -- a 60-yarder that turned a fourth-and-1 opportunity into a score and the game into an eventual blowout. Walker broke an incredible 14 tackles, and he averaged over 7.7 yards after contact per carry, according to Tru Media.
