The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Mahomes throws 6 touchdown passes
Patrick Mahomes tied a franchise record with six touchdown passes and the Kansas City Chiefs put on an impressive offensive display in a 42-37 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
Mahomes finished 23 of 28 for 326 yards in his third career start as the Chiefs (2-0) won in Pittsburgh for the first time since 1986. Mahomes, who turns 23 on Monday, has 10 touchdown passes through two weeks, the most ever by a quarterback through two games in NFL history.
Travis Kelce caught seven passes for 109 yards and two scores. Tyreek Hill, Chris Conley, Kareem Hunt (Willoughby South) and Demarcus Robinson also hauled in touchdown passes as the Chiefs recovered in the second half after blowing an early 21-pont lead.
“I see Pat doing this all season long,” Kelce said. “He’s got the confidence. As long as we give him time and get open as wide outs and tight ends and running backs, he’s going to be able to get the best out of everyone.”
Chiefs running back Hunt rushed for 75 yards on 18 carries and had a TD reception.
Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger shook off an achy right elbow that limited him in practice during the week, completing 39 of 60 passes for 452 yards and three touchdowns. The 36-year-old also leapt into the end zone for a 3-yard score with 1:59 to go that got the Steelers (0-1-1) within five.
Rather than attempt an onside kick, Pittsburgh sent it deep. Two runs by Hunt gave Kansas City a big first down and Steelers linebacker Tyler Matakevich was flagged for roughing the punter, allowing the Chiefs to run out the clock and put the twotime defending AFC North champions in an early season hole.
“It’s not fun, but it’s still early,” Roethlisberger said. “It’s kind of where are we going to go from here.
“It’s kind of a mirror, gut check, whatever you want to call it. We’ll see how everyone wants to respond.”
Kansas City’s first victory in Pittsburgh in 32 years might be the first of several turnarounds by the Chiefs, who made the surprising decision trade away veteran Alex Smith in the offseason and place the franchise in the hands of untested but strong-armed Mahomes.