The Kansas City Chiefs won a defensive struggle at Arrowhead Stadium on Monday night with a victory over the New England Patriots to move to 4-0 on the season.
Here are 10 quick facts about the game.
1. The Chiefs tallied four takeaways defensively.
Kansas City took the ball away four times on Monday night (three interceptions, one fumble recovery), marking the first time New England turned the ball over four or more times in a single contest since Week 15 of the 2012 season.
The Chiefs turned those takeaways into 14 points.
2. One of those takeaways was a Tyrann Mathieu pick-six.
So much of what Mathieu does for the Chiefs' defense often goes unnoticed when just looking at a box score, but he certainly made his presence felt midway through the fourth quarter with a pick-six that essentially sealed the victory.
It marked Mathieu's 18th career interception and his second trip to the end zone. Additionally, since 2015, Mathieu ranks third among all safeties with 15 picks.
3. Juan Thornhill and Rashad Fenton also got their hands on the football.
Thornhill tallied his first interception of the season late in the first quarter as he picked off Patriots' quarterback Brian Hoyer and returned it 23 yards. What made the play all the more remarkable is that the second-year safety is still just 10 months removed from tearing his ACL last season, and in less than a calendar year, he's already back creating turnovers.
Fenton also recorded his first pick of the year when he snagged quarterback Jarrett Stidham's pass out of the air. It was one of four passes defensed on the night for Fenton, becoming the first member of the Chiefs to rack up that many pass-breakups since Kendall Fuller in Week 14 of the 2018 season.
4. The pass-rush made a couple of game-changing plays.
For starters, defensive end Frank Clark came up with a huge play in the closing seconds of the first half when he sacked Hoyer deep in Chiefs' territory as the half came to an end. The Patriots had marched all the way down to the Kansas City 13-yard line with 10 seconds remaining in the period, making a game-tying field goal seem all but certain at the very least. New England was out of timeouts, however, and the one thing they couldn't allow was a sack. That's exactly what Clark made happen, and by sacking Hoyer, the Patriots were held scoreless despite an impressive drive.
The pass-rush was later at it again in the red zone when defensive end Taco Charlton ripped the ball free from Hoyer and linebacker Ben Niemann recovered it. That play took place at the Chiefs' 10-yard line, marking the second time in three drives that New England drove all the way inside the Kansas City 15-yard line and came away with zero points.
It was also Charlton's second sack of the season, both of which have occurred in big moments. The former first-round pick sacked Chargers' quarterback Justin Herbert on third down back in Week 2 to prevent a Los Angeles touchdown late in the game inside the red zone, keeping that game within three points for Harrison Butker's eventual game-tying field goal.
It's fair to say that Charlton has certainly made the most of his snaps in 2020.
5. Patrick Mahomes tossed a couple of touchdowns.
They may have looked like handoffs on television, but Mahomes' two quick tosses for scores on Monday night both went down as touchdown strikes in the box score. It's significant statistically, too, because Mahomes now has a touchdown pass in 14-straight games – the longest active streak in the NFL.
Mahomes' streak also matches Len Dawson for the second-longest stretch in franchise history. Only Elvis Grbac, who tossed a touchdown pass in 15-straight games between the 1999 and 2000 seasons, has a longer streak in Chiefs' history.
6. Tyreek Hill and Mecole Hardman each found the end zone.
Hill and Hardman were on the receiving end of those two quick tosses as each hauled in their respective pass and showed off their electric speed to get around the edge and find the end zone.
For Hill, it was his fourth-straight game with a receiving touchdown to begin the year. He's just the third player in franchise history to haul in a receiving score in each of Kansas City's first four games to begin a season, and the first since 1972. Hill and Tampa Bay Buccaneers' wide receiver Mike Evans are the only two players in the NFL with a receiving touchdown in every game this season.
Hardman, meanwhile, tallied his second receiving touchdown of the year and the eighth of his young career.
7. Tommy Townsend put together an all-time performance.
Townsend, punting in just his fourth game as a professional, set a franchise record on Monday night by averaging 60.8 yards-per-punt across his four kicks. The University of Florida product piled up 243 punting yards and landed one inside the 20-yard line.
8. Monday night's matchup was a clash between two of the greatest coaches in NFL history.
Chiefs' Head Coach Andy Reid (226 career wins) and Patriots' Head Coach Bill Belichick (306 career wins) have a total of 532 victories between them. In fact, Reid ranks sixth on the all-time wins list and Belichick ranks third.
Reid has won the last two matchups between these two great coaches, and with just four more wins overall this season, Reid will move past Curly Lambeau for the fifth-most victories in NFL history.
9. The Chiefs are 4-0 for a fourth-straight season.
Kansas City has made getting off to a great start a habit lately, and as it turns out, no team in NFL history has been as consistently good at the beginning of the season as the Chiefs.
The Chiefs also made some additional history when it comes to Monday Night Football.
10. Lastly, Kansas City extended its winning streak to 13-straight games.
The Chiefs haven't fallen since Week 11 of the 2019 season, compiling a stretch of nearly 11 months without a loss. The streak is already the longest in franchise history, and the Chiefs will look to keep it going on Sunday as they take on the Las Vegas Raiders at Arrowhead Stadium.
