Kansas City outlasts Minnesota; Kelce shakes off ankle injury
Patrick Mahomes threw two touchdown passes in the third quarter, one to Travis Kelce after the All-pro tight end briefly left the game with an ankle injury, and the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Minnesota Vikings 27-20 on Sunday.
Mahomes went 31 for 41 for 281 yards and no turnovers in his most efficient performance of the season for the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs (41), who once again won while not at their best.
“There’s a lot of young guys out there, and we’re going to keep everybody moving and going in the right direction,” said Mahomes, who completed passes to 10 different receivers. “I think by the end of the year we’re going to be dangerous, because you’re not going to know who’s going to get those opportunities throughout the game.”
Kirk Cousins threw for scores to Jordan Addison and Alexander Mattison for the Vikings (14). They had two chances at the tying touchdown in the final five minutes, but a late hamstring injury to star wide receiver Justin Jefferson and a lack of timeouts from earlier mismanagement of the game were ultimately too much to overcome.
Jefferson slipped on the turf while trying to make a cut on his route during a third- down pass deep in Kansas City territory. He grabbed the back of his right leg and limped slowly to the sideline.
Mahomes hit Justin Watson with a 33-yard heave on thirdand-18 from his own 17 to extend the Chiefs’ first possession of the second half. The two-time MVP finished that drive with a tiebreaking 8-yard scoring toss to Rashee Rice.
“We were backed up,” Mahomes said. “That really could’ve changed the game.”
Kelce, whose rumored girlfriend Taylor Swift was not in attendance after the superstar singer attended the Chiefs’ previous two games, fell awkwardly to the turf after catching a pass in the second quarter and went for X-rays. He watched the first possession after halftime from the sideline and went back in for the next one.
With coordinator Steve Spagnuolo sending plenty of extra rushers at Cousins, the defense was the catalyst for the Chiefs. Jefferson was held to three catches and 28 yards, both season lows, with cornerback L’jarius Sneed leading the effort from the secondary.
“They played exceptionally today,” said Chris Jones, who had one of the three sacks on Cousins.