MAHOMES AND HILL PROVE UNSTOPPABLE
KANSAS CITY TAKE SIXTH STRAIGHT WITH WIN OVER BRADY AND BUCCANEERS
Patrick Mahomes passed for 462 yards and three touchdowns, winning a duel against Tom Brady as the visiting Kansas City Chiefs beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-24 on Sunday.
The Chiefs ( 10- 1) won their sixth straight and continued to track the front- running Pittsburgh Steelers for the top seed in the AFC playoffs by capitalizing on the rhythm established between Mahomes and speedster Tyreek Hill.
Hill caught 13 passes for 269 yards and three touchdowns. Fittingly, he also snagged a game- clinching eight- yard pass on the boundary for a first down that enabled Kansas City to run out the fourth- quarter clock.
Hill had seven receptions for 203 yards in the first quarter, including scores of 75 and 44 yards. His first- quarter yardage was the most in a period since 2006 when Lee Evans generated 205 yards for Buffalo. Hill also grabbed a 20- yard TD in the third quarter to make it 27-10.
The Bucs ( 7- 5) could not offer enough answers behind Brady, who finished 27 of 41 for 345 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
Brady bounced back from interceptions on back- toback drives in the third quarter with a bold fourth- down score to Mike Evans with 12:44 left. The 31-yard strike reduced the margin to 27-17.
After the Chiefs consumed more than six minutes before punting, Brady drove the Bucs within 27-24, finding Evans again for a seven- yard score with 4: 10 left.
Hill’s first- half touchdowns helped Kansas City to build a 17- 0 lead. The Chiefs looked to add to that margin when they drove to the eight- yard- line midway through the second quarter before committing their first red zone turnover in 17 games — a fumble by Mahomes.
The Bucs converted William Gholston’s recovery of the sack- and- strip into an 86- yard touchdown drive in which Brady went 5- for- 6, including a 37- yard touchdown to Ronald Jones II with 4:29 left in the half.
Harrison Butker added a 29- yard field goal to make it 20-7 at halftime after the Bucs ended a string of 11 straight completions by Mahomes to force the field goal attempt.
Henry’s 3 TDS help Titans top Colts
Derrick Henry ran for 178 yards and three touchdowns to help the visiting Tennessee Titans grab sole possession of first place in the AFC South with a 45- 26 victory against the Indianapolis Colts.
A. J. Brown had a 69- yard touchdown reception and also returned an onside kick 42 yards for a score late in the game for the Titans ( 83), who built a 35-14 halftime lead.
Jacoby Brissett had two short TD runs for the Colts ( 7- 4), who had defeated division rival Tennessee in Nashville on Nov. 12.
Ryan Tannehill finished 13 of 22 for 221 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for a score.
Henry carried 27 times as Tennessee out- rushed Indianapolis 229-56. The Colts entered the game having surrendered just 89.2 rushing yards per game.
Philip Rivers, making his 235th consecutive start, completed 24 of 42 passes for 295 yards and TD passes to Trey Burton ( 11 yards in the first quarter) and T.Y. Hilton ( five yards in the fourth quarter). Rivers threw one interception.
Henry ran 17 times for 140 yards and three touchdowns as the Titans built a 21-point halftime lead. The Colts allowed more points in the first half than they previously had surrendered in a game (32 at Cleveland, Oct. 11) this season.
Henry capped the game’s opening drive by running 12 yards for a score, then added second-quarter scoring runs of one and 11 yards.
Brown’s 69-yard TD reception gave Tennessee a 14-7 edge with nine seconds left in the first quarter. Brown caught Tannehill’s pass on a crossing pattern, then ran 60 yards to the end zone.
Brissett’s one- yard run tied the score at 14 at 12:51 of the second quarter. Colts left tackle Anthony Castonzo apparently suffered a knee injury on the play and was lost for the rest of the game.
Tannehill’s one- yard run made it 35-14 with 20 seconds left in the half. The five- play, 44- yard drive began after Indianapolis linebacker Matthew Adams was penalized 15 yards for throwing a punch on punt coverage. Adams was disqualified from the game.