The last time Kansas City traveled to Tampa, Flordia to play the Buccaneers was in Super Bowl LV two years ago, which ended with quarterback Tom Brady obtaining his eighth ring as his team crushed the Chiefs 31-9.
Following an embarrassing output last week against the Indianapolis Colts, losing 20-17, it’s not surprising the Chiefs were able to bounce back the following week. But based on the way Kansas City played on Sunday evening, it was clear that the players that were a part of that Super Bowl loss haven’t forgotten.
On the opening kickoff, the Chiefs made their presence felt early. Rookie Rachaad White took the ball out of his own end zone and quickly received a whack by Chris Lammons that popped the ball free, forcing the game’s first takeaway as Elijah Lee recovered the fumble to set up the Chiefs’ offense deep in Buccaneers territory, at the 21-yard line. Two plays later, Patrick Mahomes finds Travis Kelce in the middle of the field, and the veteran tight end does the rest as he hurries up the field before making a drive into the end zone for a quick score.
After forcing Tom Brady off the field in eight plays, former Chiefs kicker Ryan Succop drives home a 45-yard field goal to make the score 7-3 with 10:17 left to play in the first quarter.
On the Chiefs’ second offensive possession, Mahomes rapidly got the ball to his playmakers, converting on third down three times to move the chains and up the field 79 yards in fourteen plays. From the Tampa three, the Chiefs lined up in a wildcard formation with running back Jerick McKinnon lined up directly behind center with Travis Kelce to his left and Clyde Edwards-Helaire to his left.
McKinnon took the snap and handed the ball to Edward-Helaire, who bulldozed his way into the end zone for the Chiefs’ second touchdown of the game.
After forcing the Buccaneers to go three and out after five plays of offense, Kansas City got the back and established another long drive to end the first quarter. After connecting on a 13-yard pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster and a seven-yarder to Travis Kelce to move up from the 13-yard line to the 33; Mahomes handed the ball off to rookie Isiah Pacheco for a minimal gain of 8 yards before scrambling for 7 more yards to convert on 3rd and 2.
From around mid-field, at his own 48, Mahomes found Marquez Valdes-Scantling for a 36-yard connection to the Buccaneers’ 16. Six plays later, Mahomes pulls off a Houdini act as he rolls to his right and escapes a sack, as a defender drives for his feet, before spinning out of another tackle and flipping the into the air for a score, as the ball lands into the hands of Edwards-Helaire in the back of the end zone.
Down 21-3 with 11:26 to play in the second quarter, the Bucs final answered as Tom Brady whipped an 11-yard pass to Rachaad White, a 30-yard pass to Mike Evens, an 11-yard throw to Cameron Brate, and a 10-yard pass to White to move his offense up to the Chiefs’ 13-yard line. From there, Brady darted a pass for the end zone that Mike Evans snatched out of the air for the touchdown to cut the deficit down to a 21-10 ball game with 8:44 left in the first half.
Kansas City turned the ball over on downs on their next possession as Mahomes floated a pass for Edwards-Helaire on a 4th down conversion attempt, but the ball placement was too awkward for CEH to secure, and the pass was dropped. Tampa Bay resumed possession at their own 34.
However, on their very first offensive play since taking over on down, Tom Brady fails to pickup the corner blitz and is sacked by L’Jarius Sneed and forcing the ball to squirt out of Brady’s hand. A frenzy for the live fumble quickly forms, but Chirs Jones was at the right spot to immediately scoop the ball up for his offense.
Sevens plays after the fumble recovery, and Kansas City makes it back into the end zone as the Chiefs dig back into their bag of gimmicks. From a shotgun formation, Mahomes moves tight end Noah Gray in motion and begins yelling and pointing at Justin Watson, distracting the Buc’s defense from noticing Gray move halfway from the right to under center to take a direct snap into the end zone for the score.
Down 28-10, Tampa Bay finished the first half by going on a long 16-play drive that ended with Brady finding Evans for the touchdown from a yard out.
Kansas City’s offense got the ball to begin the third quarter and set up Matthew Wright to send in a 44-yard field goal after sputtering to a halt at the Buc’s 24-yard line. After forcing Tampa Bay to punt again, the Chiefs reassembled at their own 35.
Following two short runs by Edwards-Helaire and Pacheco and a nine-yard connection to Smith-Schuster, Mahomes ripped a deep ball from midfield to Vades-Scantling for a 25-yard gain to the Tampa 26. two plays later, Mahomes hit rookie Skyy Moore for a 16-yard reception to move upfield to the five-yard line. After getting sacked for a five-yard loss, Mahomes struck a pass to Jody Fortson for his third touchdown pass of the night.
Tom Brady answered with another 10-play drive that ended with Rachaad White weaving his way into the end zone for a one-yard score. Kansas City responded with a 32-yard field goal by Wright entering the fourth quarter.
Following another Tampa Bay punt, Kansas City got the ball back, up 41-24 with 7:48 left to play. As the Chiefs moved up the field in small intervals, Mahomes dropped back and turned the ball over by way of an interception.
Six plays later, Brady takes advantage of the short field position and gets his team into the end zone in six plays. The drive ended with Leonard Fournette snagging a short throw out of the air for the score.
After forcing the Chiefs to punt with under a minute left, Tampa Bay got the ball back but couldn’t get up the field fast enough before time expired.
Kansas City takes home a 41-31 win over the Buccaneers and improves to 3-1 on the season. The Chiefs return home next week for a Monday Night Football matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders (1-3).
