Final Score: Chiefs squeak out 20-17 victory over Giants

Kansas City made a late field goal to win a sloppy game against New York on Monday Night Football.

On Monday Night Football against the New York Giants, the Kansas City Chiefs took small steps forward on both sides of the ball that were overshadowed by turnovers and penalties. But in the end, the Chiefs held on for a 20-17 victory.

The Chiefs got the ball first, beginning by methodically executing its game plan to attack the Giants underneath. The team frequently used pre-snap motion to get its best pass catchers open with room to run after the catch. On the first play from scrimmage, quarterback Patrick Mahomes connected with Tyreek Hill in the flat and quickly converted a first down. On the next play, Travis Kelce took a short pass for three yards. The Chiefs used pre-snap motion to get Hill open underneath, and he took a reception for nine yards and another first down. Darrel Williams took the first carry of the game for two yards. Mahomes continued to spread the ball around — throwing a dump pass over the middle to Byron Pringle for another first down. Mahomes hit Williams in the flat for a gain of seven after faking the handoff to him in the backfield. Split out wide, Mecole Hardman caught a quick pass and took it for another first down. In the red zone, Mahomes broke the pocket on first down and rushed for a gain of five yards. On the next play, Hill took a pitch in the backfield and used his agility to get another first down. Kelce took a direct snap on second-and-goal and flipped a basketball pass behind his back to Mahomes, who wisely threw it away in the face of solid coverage by the Giants. However, on third-and-goal, Mahomes tried to force a jump pass to Josh Gordon, but the ball was deflected straight up into the air and intercepted by Giants’ defensive back Julian Love.

New York’s first drive of the game would end quickly. The Giants took over at their own 20-yard-line. On first down, quarterback Daniel Jones handed off to Devontae Booker for a gain of two yards. On second down, Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay Jr. read Jones’ eyes and intercepted a pass in the flat intended for Darius Slayton.

Starting inside the Giants’ 15-yard-line, preseason standout Derek Gore took a handoff inside the tackles for a first down. Gore took his second carry east and west and ended up losing two yards. He would not make that mistake again. On third-and-goal from the six-yard-line, Mahomes bought time in the pocket, stepped up, and hit Hill in the back of the end zone for a touchdown. The Chiefs led 7-0.

After a touchback, the Giants started from their own 25-yard-line. On first down, Jones tossed a pass to the boundary that was covered well by cornerback Charvarius Ward and fell incomplete. Jones handed off to Booker on the next play, but he was stuffed near the line of scrimmage by Willie Gay Jr. and a host of Chiefs players. Booker caught a pass from Jones on third-and-long but was tripped up around the ankles by L’Jarius Sneed to end the drive.

Williams started the next drive for the Chiefs with a carry for four yards. Giants linebacker Oshane Ximines batted down a Mahomes pass at the line of scrimmage on second down. On third down, Mahomes connected with Hill for the sixth time in the first quarter for a gain of six yards and another first down. He dropped back and threw the ball away on the next play. On second-and-10, Mahomes threw a pass into the dirt that was intended for Kelce. He then attempted a bomb up the sideline to Hill on third down, but the pair were unable to connect — ending the drive.

The Giants started the next drive from their own 15-yard-line. Jones scrambled on first down for a gain of two yards. On second down, Jones handed off to Booker, who ran into his offensive lineman before being wrapped by Nick Bolton and a group of Chiefs defenders for a loss of yards. On third-and-11, Jones took a deep drop and converted a bomb to John Ross for 53 yards. Ross was able to adjust and make the catch despite pass interference by safety Daniel Sorensen.

On the next play, rookie receiver Kadarius Toney took a reverse and threw a pass to Sterling Shepard for a first down. The Giants kept the momentum rolling, giving Booker a carry for another first down. Inside its own five-yard-line, the Chiefs bottled up Booker for a short gain on first-and-goal. On second-and-goal, Jones lofted a pass to Shepard that fell incomplete. The Giants lined up with three receivers bunched to the left side of the line on third-and-goal and tossed a screen pass to Shepard that was stopped short of the goal line. The team elected to go for it on fourth-and-goal, and Jones was able to connect with tight end Kyle Rudolph on a play-action pass for a touchdown.

With the game tied 7-7, the Chiefs began their first drive of the second quarter from their own 25-yard-line. Williams took a carry for two yards on first down. On the next play, Mahomes tossed another risky pass over the middle of the field that was nearly intercepted by James Bradberry. On third-and-8, Mahomes scrambled to the right and threw an incomplete pass under pressure from Leonard Williams.

The Giants took over at their own 15-yard-line. Bolton filled his run gap nicely on first down to stop Booker for a gain of two yards. Chris Jones applied pressure from the interior on second down, causing Jones to float a pass incomplete that was defended by Sneed. Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo dialed up pressure on third-and-8— and Shepard could not get his head around to catch a quick pass from Jones. Sneed had tight coverage again on the play.

Williams began Kansas City’s next drive with a seven-yard reception. Gore followed it up with a four-yard carry for a first down. Mahomes rolled left on first down and threw one of his vintage sidearm passes to Hill for a gain of 11 yards and a first down. On the next play, Gore plowed forward for a gain of four yards. Mahomes fired a bullet over the middle of the field that was behind Pringle and almost intercepted again. On the next play, he connected with Hill to notch the Chiefs another first down and keep the drive alive. Hill came up big to move the sticks on several occasions in the game. Then the offensive line and Gore got rolling. Gore resumed his tough running between the tackles for gains of nine and seven yards. Behind an offensive line that continued to get a nice push, Gore took two more carries for gains of five and ten yards, respectively. Gore polished off an impressive drive with a touchdown carry outside the tackles in which he outran speedy cornerback Adoree’ Jackson to the pylon. The Chiefs led 14-7.

After a taunting penalty, the Giants began the next drive deep in its own territory. Jones connected with Rudolph on a play-action pass for a first down. The Chiefs sniffed out a screen pass to Shepard on the next play and stopped him for a short gain. Booker followed it up by taking a screen pass for 12 yards and a first down. The Giants continued to attack the Chiefs with play-action passes. After taking the fake from Jones, Booker caught a pass from him and took it for 41 yards. Fifteen yards were tacked on to the end of the run after a roughing the passer penalty called on Sneed. Derrick Nnadi bottled up Jones near the line of scrimmage on first-and-10. On second down, Jones took a run for five yards. Jones completed a pass short of the sticks to Shepard — bringing up fourth down. The Giants elected to kick it and converted a short field goal, narrowing the score to 14-10.

The Chiefs began the next drive with 2:45 left in the first half. Mahomes completed a dump pass to Williams on first down, which he took for 17 yards before getting out of bounds to stop the clock. Mahomes once again could not connect with Hill down the field on the next play. On second-and-10, Kelce was jammed at the line of scrimmage and fell to the ground, blowing up the play. While still in the pocket, Mahomes tried to throw it away and was called for intentional grounding. On third-and-20, the Chiefs received a free play when Leonard Williams jumped offsides — but Mahomes could not connect with Demarcus Robinson on a well-defended deep ball outside the numbers. On third-and-15, Mahomes scrambled right and threw an incomplete pass into triple coverage that was intended for Hardman.

Toney caught a short pass to start the next New York drive. Booker took two quick carries to gain a first down. Sneed nearly intercepted a pass intended for Shepard but was called for pass interference after grabbing his jersey during the receiver’s break. With 20 seconds left in the half, Jones drew a holding call on Giants’ right tackle Nate Solder when he was applying pressure off the edge. Booker took a draw up the middle for 15 yards on the next play to get the Giants near midfield. The Giants were called for a delay of game, which backed them up a few yards. Jones took a knee to head into the half with the Chiefs up 14-10.

The Giants started the second half with the ball. The team kept it on the ground with Booker twice in a row to bring up third-and-short. The team attempted to run the option, but Gay plugged the hole and stuffed Jones for no gain — ending the drive.

The Chiefs started the second half how it did the first — hitting Hill underneath for a first down. Then the Chiefs’ offensive line resumed wearing down the Giants. Williams took consecutive carries up the gut for first downs. Gore was stuffed in the backfield on the next play. Mahomes completed a short pass outside the numbers to bring up third-and-8. He attempted another pass along the boundary to Kelce, but the tight end was covered by Bradberry and the ball fell incomplete.

The Giants took over at its own 18-yard-line. The team went right back to the play-action pass, which Jones used to complete a 22-yard pass to Ross. Booker took a carry for three yards. Jones completed a quick slant to Toney on second down. On third-and-3, Jones tried to hit Toney on the slant again — but the pass fell incomplete. Ward was in coverage on the play.

The Chiefs opened the next drive by attempting a deep pass to Hill — but again could not connect with him. However, the team was able to continue its dominance in the running game. Williams and Hardman took back-to-back carries for first downs. Hardman took a swing pass on the next play for a gain of nine yards. At midfield, Williams took a carry on second-and-short and picked up a first down. Mahomes connected with Robinson for his first reception of the day — a gain of 18 yards. The team continued to exploit space vacated by New York’s linebackers but could not get its receivers over the top of the Giants’ two-high shell. Mahomes finally was able to connect with Kelce over the middle of the field but the Giants’ defense poked the ball out of the tight end’s hands. Bradberry recovered the fumble to end another Kansas City drive with a turnover.

Jones started the next drive with a scramble for five yards. Booker added four yards on the next carry — and Chris Jones gave the Giants five more after being called for a hold. The Chiefs’ defensive lineman jumped offsides two plays later, giving the Giants another first down. On first-and-10, Sneed looked well-positioned to pick off a Jones pass to the flat — but he tripped, allowing Toney to take it for a first down. The Giants continued to run the ball well in Kansas City territory. The team used it to attempt a play-action pass to Rudolph in the end zone — but Ward’s sticky coverage caused the ball to fall incomplete. On the next play, Evan Engram beat Sorensen off the line of scrimmage to catch a touchdown pass from Jones. After a successful point-after attempt, the Giants took a 17-14 lead.

Pringle was called for holding on the first play of Kansas City’s next drive — continuing a streak of sloppy football by the Chiefs. But the team continued to find success underneath. Mahomes connected with Hill and Williams several times on short passes to get the Chiefs to midfield. After a four-yard carry by Williams on first down, Mahomes scrambled for six yards on the next play to move the sticks. The quarterback was looking deep for Hill on the play, but the Giants’ secondary continued to prevent explosive plays down the field. After a drop by Blake Bell and a rush for negative yards by Williams, Hill found a soft spot over the middle of the field and caught a bullet from Mahomes to move the sticks. The Chiefs would face third-and-long again after a short run by Gore and an incomplete pass to Hardman. Leonard Williams applied pressure and stripped the ball out of Mahomes’ hands. The Chiefs recovered the fumble to bring up fourth down. Harrison Butker hit a 36-yard field goal to knot the game at 17-17.

The Giants began the next drive with under nine minutes to play in the game. The team took its time running the ball and completing short passes — intentionally trying to drain time from the clock. The Giants continued to find success targeting Kansas City’s linebackers with play-action passes. The Chiefs looked like they stopped the Giants on third-and-4, but a holding call on Ward kept New York’s drive alive. A drop by Slayton brought up third-down for the Giants again — but, this time, Kansas City’s coverage down the field caused an incompletion that ended the drive.

The Chiefs started the next drive from their own territory with 4:41 remaining in the game. The Giants applied pressure on Mahomes on consecutive plays — forcing a holding call on Orlando Brown Jr. and an incomplete pass. Giants cornerback Darnay Holmes intercepted Mahomes on the next play, but an offsides penalty by the Giants kept Kansas City’s drive alive. Then Mahomes connected with Kelce for a chunk play over the middle. A questionable facemask penalty against the Giants tacked on yards at the end of the play. After crossing midfield, the Chiefs returned to its conservative game plan — running the football to chew up the clock and protect the football. Hardman took a tap pass from Mahomes for 24 yards to bring up first-and-goal for the Chiefs. New York’s defense held up deep in its own territory — capped off by a sack on Mahomes on third-and-goal — to hold the Chiefs to a field goal attempt. Butker drained it from 34 yards out to give the Chiefs a 20-17 lead.

The Giants got the ball back with 1:07 left in the game. Starting the drive from the 25-yard line, Jones completed a three-yard pass to a receiver who got out of bounds to stop the clock. On the next play, Chris Jones stepped up to record a sack. The Chiefs kept the pressure coming. Facing heavy pressure from Clark and the Chiefs, Jones threw an incompletion on the next play. Then, on fourth-and-long, Jarran Reed and Clark applied pressure again and caused Jones to cough up the football.

The Chiefs came out in victory formation to ice the game.

Special teams

Giants receiver Dante Pettis muffed a punt in the second quarter that was nearly recovered by Chiefs wide receiver Marcus Kemp.

Kemp had textbook punt coverage on a return by Toney in the second quarter but was called for unnecessary roughness after a helmet-to-helmet hit.

Harrison Butker was perfect on the night — making two extra points and two field goals.

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