Brady gets last laugh
Mahomes rallies Chiefs, but last-play FG lifts Pats
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Stephen Gostkowski made a 28-yard field goal as time expired, and the Patriots edged the Chiefs 43-40 on ‘‘Sunday Night Football’ after blowing a big halftime lead.
Tom Brady passed for 340 yards and a touchdown and ran for another touchdown on his way to his 200th victory as a starting quarterback, tops in NFL history. Brady also passed former teammate Adam Vinatieri for most career victories in the regular season and playoffs combined with 227.
The Patriots (4-2) also got another solid performance from rookie Sony Michel, who carried 24 times for 106 yards and two touchdowns.
It was the first loss of the season for the Chiefs (5-1), leaving the Rams as the only unbeaten team in the NFL.
The Patriots led 24-9 at the half, but Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes directed an impressive rally. He finished 23-for-36 for 352 yards and four touchdowns in his first loss as a starting quarterback, with three of his four touchdown passes going to Tyreek Hill.
Mahomes threw two interceptions in the first half but was unflappable down the stretch. He found Hill for a one-yard touchdown pass that gave the Chiefs a 33-30 lead with 8:38 left. Then with the Chiefs trailing 40-33, he connected with Hill again on a 75-yard touchdown pass that tied the score with just more than three minutes left.
Brady then used a 16-yard pass to James White and a 39-yard pass to Rob Gronkowski to get the Patriots into field-goal range for Gostkowski’s game-winner.
After electrifying the NFL during the first five weeks of the season with his freewheeling style and big arm, Mahomes looked unsure of himself early on.
He was able to complete some long passes to get the Chiefs into the red zone, but he turned the ball over twice in the first half, and the high-scoring Chiefs were held to three field goals.
Everything changed in the second half, though. First, Mahomes broke through with a 67-yard touchdown pass to Kareem Hunt. That was followed by a 14-yard touchdown strike to Hill that came on the heels of a fumble by Brady, helping the Chiefs trim their deficit to 27-26 entering the fourth quarter.
A 39-yard field goal by Gostkowski stretched the Patriots’ lead to 30-26, but the Chiefs kept coming. Tremon Smith took the ensuing kickoff 97 yards down the sideline to the Patriots’ 3, setting up the go-ahead touchdown pass from Mahomes to Hill.
The Patriots responded, using a 42-yard pass from Brady to Chris Hogan to set up a four-yard touchdown run by Brady that put them back in front.
Then, after the Patriots forced the Chiefs into the first punt of the game by either team, Brady provided them with some breathing room when he hooked up with Gronkowski for a 42-yard gain to set up a 50-yard field goal by Gostkowski.
Gostkowski made five field goals and the Chiefs’ Harrison Butker four.