The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers, 28-18, on Sunday afternoon to remain unbeaten on the season. In fact, following the Minnesota Vikings' loss earlier in the day, Kansas City is now the lone undefeated team in the NFL.
Sunday's victory was the result of a three-phase effort, too, as Kansas City overcame two giveaways to secure its sixth win of the year.
"Overall, I just thought it was a good team performance. There were a lot of good things that happened," said Head Coach Andy Reid. "Defensively, I thought we just played great football. [We had] three picks against a really good offense, and it led to 14 points."
Indeed, the defense put together another stellar performance on Sunday by holding San Francisco – which entered the game as the No. 2 total offense in the NFL – to just 18 points and a 2-for-11 mark on third down. The Chiefs also recorded three interceptions on the day like Reid said, all three of which took place in Kansas City territory.
The Chiefs' second pick, which landed in the arms of rookie cornerback Christian Roland-Wallace, marked a significant turning point in the game. Kansas City was clinging to just a two-point lead and San Francisco was driving, but on third down, Roland-Wallace intercepted 49ers' quarterback Brock Purdy to thwart the 49ers' series.
Chiefs' quarterback Patrick Mahomes then immediately engineered a 13-play, 79-yard scoring drive on Kansas City's ensuring series. The drive featured a third-down completion to tight end Travis Kelce and a 33-yard scramble by Mahomes before the Chiefs' All-Pro quarterback found the end zone on a 1-yard, fourth-down scoring run a bit later that extended Kansas City's lead.
The 49ers didn't go away, however, as San Francisco marched all the way down to the Chiefs' 5-yard line and appeared poised to narrow the deficit with over nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Kansas City's defense had other ideas though, as defensive end George Karlaftis rushed Purdy's throw and forced an errant pass that landed in the arms of rookie safety Jaden Hicks, who recorded the Chiefs' third takeaway of the day.
Kansas City then proceeded to tally a 12-play scoring drive that ended with an 18-yard end around for a touchdown by wide receiver Mecole Hardman that effectively put the game away. The series consisted of 10 running plays and just two passes, though both throws moved the chains on third down and allowed Kansas City to work more than six minutes off the clock.
"[We] just bared down and put the hammer down," Reid said. "That was important."
Hardman's score completed a strong performance by the Chiefs' offense in terms of red zone efficiency, which had been a problem through the first five games of the season. It wasn't an issue in the slightest on Sunday, as running back Kareem Hunt, Mahomes and Hardman all helped Kansas City finish four of its five red zone drives with touchdowns.
Hunt, in particular, was responsible for each of the Chiefs' first two touchdowns of the afternoon while rushing for 78 yards on 22 carries. His efforts helped build an early 11-point lead, but San Francisco managed to score nine unanswered points and pull within just two points early in the third quarter.
The 49ers seemed to be in a position to continue that stretch, too, but Roland-Wallace and Hicks picked off Purdy on each of the 49ers' next two possessions, and Kansas City's offense didn't waste either opportunity.
It all added up to another Chiefs' victory to open up the season, and while it wasn't always pretty, Kansas City once again found a way to win it in the end.
"I think it's just showing the versatility of our team. It's not just about me, it's not just about the stats and the light show and stuff like that. It's about playing team football," Mahomes said. "I believe that if we continue to work, we'll get better offensively [in terms of] throwing the ball down the field. Until then, it's nice to know that we have a great running game, we have a great defense and we're able to execute whenever the time comes to win football games."
In terms of injuries, cornerback Jaylen Watson left the game early due to an ankle injury.
The Chiefs will now turn the page to a matchup with the Raiders in Las Vegas this upcoming Sunday.
