The Kansas City Chiefs put together a dominating performance on both sides of the ball in front of a national audience on Monday night with an impressive victory over the Baltimore Ravens.
Here are 10 interesting notes about the game.
1. Patrick Mahomes was at his best.
Mahomes was simply outstanding throughout the contest, completing 31-of-42 passes for 385 yards and five total touchdowns (four passing, one rushing). It marked his third-straight game with 370+ passing yards against the Ravens, who are 22-1 against the rest of the NFL but 0-3 when playing Kansas City since Week 11 of the 2018 campaign.
And when taking a look at the advanced metrics, Mahomes was particularly effective against the Ravens' blitz throughout the game.
Mahomes also set a couple records with his performance on Monday night. For starters, he became the fastest player to 10,000 career passing yards in NFL history by reaching the mark in just 34 games.
Additionally, the 25-year-old Mahomes recorded his 17th career regular-season game with 3+ touchdowns, which are the third-most through four professional seasons in league history. Only Dan Marino (27) and Kurt Warner (21) tallied more, and Mahomes – who played in just one game his rookie year – still has plenty of season left.
Lastly, Mahomes continued his ridiculous success in the month of September. For his career, Mahomes is now 10-0 with 3,304 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and zero interceptions through the first month of the season. There's getting off to a good start, and then there's Mahomes.
2. Anthony Sherman caught Mahomes' first scoring strike of the night.
Sherman hauled in a 5-yard shovel pass for Mahomes' first passing touchdown and Kansas City's second overall score of the night, marking his first trip to the end zone since Week 1 of the 2018 season.
The veteran fullback now has six total scores for his career (including the playoffs), and this one helped the Chiefs accomplish something against Baltimore that hadn't been done in a while.
3. Tyreek Hill was back in the end zone for a third-straight game.
Hill caught a 20-yard toss from Mahomes midway through the second quarter for his third touchdown grab of the year and his 29th receiving score since the beginning of the 2017 campaign, which are the third-most in the NFL behind only the Arizona Cardinals' DeAndre Hopkins and Green Bay Packers' Davante Adams.
This particular touchdown was of the variety that only a select few could pull off.
4. Mecole Hardman is a big play machine.
Hardman was responsible for Kansas City's fourth touchdown of the night with a 49-yard catch late in the second quarter. It was Hardman's seventh-career scoring grab, all of which have covered 20+ yards.
In fact, Hardman is tied with New York Giants' wide receiver Darius Slayton for the most receiving touchdowns of at least 20 yards since the beginning of last season.
According to Next Gen Stats, Mahomes' 58.1 air yards on the throw were the second-most in the NFL so far this season.
5. That wrapped up a wild first half for the Kansas City offense.
The Chiefs piled up four touchdowns through the first two quarters, marking the first time the Ravens had allowed 20+ points in the first half of a game since Week 3 of last season against none other than Kansas City. In fact, Baltimore has allowed 27+ points just six times since the beginning of the 2018 season, and the Chiefs are responsible for three of those occurrences.
6. The defense was really good, too.
The Chiefs were swarming Ravens' quarterback Lamar Jackson all night, racking up four sacks and 15 total pressures on the reigning league MVP. It helped Kansas City hold Jackson to just 180 yards of total offense – the second-lowest output of his career as a starting quarterback.
Kansas City held Baltimore's high-powered offense to just 13 offensive points, 228 yards and 3-of-9 on third down.
7. Clyde Edwards-Helaire did a little bit of everything.
The rookie tailback tallied 134 yards of total offense (64 rushing yards, 70 receiving yards) and came up big in a couple of critical moments, including a pair of third down grabs that moved the chains both times and picked up a combined 33 yards.
According to Pro Football Focus, Edwards-Helaire avoided four tackles and notched 56 yards after contact.
8. Eric Fisher found the end zone for the first time in his career.
The Chiefs were in need of an insurance score following a late Ravens' rally, and near the goal line midway through the fourth quarter, Kansas City got just that as Mahomes floated a touchdown pass to offensive tackle Eric Fisher to essentially secure the victory.
It marked the first touchdown of Fisher's career, and believe it or not, he's the first former No. 1 overall pick to haul in a scoring grab in quite a while.
9. Fisher was one of four players to catch a touchdown on the night.
Mahomes spread the ball around early and often against Baltimore, continuing a trend for Kansas City of sharing trips to the end zone amongst the roster. At least three different players have now caught a touchdown in 13 games for the Chiefs since the beginning of the 2018 season, which are the most of any team in the NFL.
10. The Chiefs just keep on rolling at an unprecedented rate.
Monday night's victory marked Kansas City's 12th in a row, setting a franchise record.
The Chiefs are winning at a rate unseen before in the long history of this organization, and following a dominant showing against one of the top teams in all of football, the "Run It Back" tour is in great shape through the first three weeks of the campaign.
