After the Kansas City Chiefs’ Week 3 win over the Atlanta Falcons, quarterback Patrick Mahomes‘s message about his play as well as the team’s play overall should frighten the rest of the NFL.
“We haven’t played good, really all three games. We’ve been able to win. Me — I feel like I haven’t played that well,” Mahomes said during his postgame press conference on September 22. “I’ve got to get back to my fundamentals. That’s stuff I go through sometimes, not usually early in the season like this. But luckily for me, I’m not playing my best football and we’re still getting wins. I’ve got to get better to make the offense better.”
Despite Mahomes not playing at an elite level, the offense not having starting running back Isiah Pacheco or veteran receiver Hollywood Brown, and the defense having its fair share of blunders, Kansas City is one of five teams remaining in the league that are undefeated. That’s bad news for the 31 other NFL teams, as the two-time defending Super Bowl champions are expected to only get better from here, barring more injuries.
It’s yet another example of why the Chiefs are fresh off of back-to-back championship victories. Even when the going gets tough, they find a way to win.
Chiefs Defeat Falcons on Sunday Night Football
During the 22-17 win for Kansas City, Mahomes completed 26-of-39 pass attempts for 217 yards, two touchdowns, and threw one interception. His leading receiver was second-year wideout Rashee Rice, who caught 12 passes on 14 targets for 110 yards and one touchdown.
Rookie running back Carson Steele, who led the backfield in place of Pacheco, carried the ball 17 times for 72 yards, averaging 4.2 yards per carry.
On defense, second-year defensive back Chamarri Conner had a team-high 10 tackles, two passes defended, and one interception. Linebacker Nick Bolton had a team-high three tackles for loss and eight total tackles, one of which came on a 4th-and-1 play in which he tackled Falcons running back Bijan Robinson inside Kansas City’s red zone.
Now with a 3-0 record, next up on the Chiefs’ schedule is an away game against the division-rival Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, September 29.
X Users React to Chiefs Win Over Falcons
Users on X — formerly Twitter — reacted to Kansas City’s victory over Atlanta in Week 3.
“As a diehard chiefs fan for 5 years. This was a great win,” one person wrote. “I think we must rest Mahomes next week and sign Desmond Ridder to start vs the [Chargers].
“Teams just can’t hold their water against the Chiefs and wait,” one person wrote. “Had Atlanta kicked the fg down 5 with 4 to go their in line to kick the game winner at the end.”
“A solid win, considering we’re not firing on all cylinders yet,” another person wrote. “Despite significant injuries and facing teams’ best shots as Super Bowl champions, we’re grinding out results. History shows the Chiefs only get stronger as the season progresses. I’ll take that 3- 0 start!”
“Huge Chiefs fan here, but Atlanta lost that game more than Kansas City won it,” another person wrote. “Pretty ugly 3-0, but I’ll take it. Still KC (and specifically Mahomes) has to play better…so it doesn’t have to be decided in the final minute.
