Chiefs survive OT, Mahomes injury scare, beat Bucs

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Kansas City Chiefs found their way to 8-0 this season by winning in improbable fashion. Perhaps none is more improbable than their 30-24 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on “Monday Night Football” at Arrowhead Stadium.

The Chiefs trailed by seven points in the fourth quarter but rallied with two touchdown passes from Patrick Mahomes, who injured his ankle on the first throw. He returned for the next offensive possession and led a 15-play drive that lasted more than eight minutes. Baker Mayfield led the Bucs with a touchdown drive to tie the game in the final minute of regulation and push the game into overtime, where the Chiefs scored a touchdown on their first possession for an automatic win.

DeAndre Hopkins has been hugely important to the Chiefs following their recent wide receiver trade with the Tennessee Titans. In his second game with Kansas City, Hopkins caught eight passes for 86 yards and scored two touchdowns.

Here are the key things to know from Monday night for both teams:

QB breakdown: Mahomes recorded his first completion of 20 or more air yards since Week 4 with a 35-yard pass to Hopkins in the first half. But that was Mahomes' only completion of more than 20 yards. He was also fired four times.

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Hopkins follows a great catch in traffic with his 1st Chiefs TD

DeAndre Hopkins makes a great catch in double coverage and a few plays later scores his first touchdown as a Chief.

Most surprising performance: Kareem Hunt had a tough game with 16 rushing yards on seven carries in the first half. But he rushed seven times for 47 yards on Kansas City's decisive touchdown drive to make it 17-17 with 14:14 left. He finished the game with 27 carries for 106 yards, including the game-winning score.

Describe the game in two words: Tough win. The Chiefs and their struggling offense appeared to be in trouble, trailing by seven points in the fourth quarter. But they managed two touchdown drives, one with a limping Mahomes after the ankle injury, to take a 24-17 lead before capping off a win in OT. – Adam Teicher

Next game: vs. Broncos (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)

Despite being without their top three wide receivers in Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan, the Bucs nearly ousted the NFL's only undefeated team, but instead they've now lost three consecutive players. Wide receiver Ryan Miller caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Mayfield to make it 24-24. But their defense couldn't keep up, as a 10-play overtime period was capped by a 2-yard touchdown from Hunt.

The Bucs fell below .500 for the first time this season. They have one more game next week against the San Francisco 49ers before their Week 11 bye, and then Evans is expected to return. From there, their schedule becomes significantly easier as only one opponent has a winning record (the Los Angeles Chargers), suggesting they could make another playoff push late in the season.

QB breakdown: Mayfield completed 23 of 31 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns. The 11-yard touchdown to tight end Cade Otton came in the corner of the end zone with safety Justin Reid in coverage. Like last week, Mayfield relied heavily on Otton and running backs Bucky Irving and Rachaad White in the screen game.

Biggest gap in the game plan: All four of the Chiefs' touchdowns came on third down, with Hopkins tackling Josh Hayes twice to make his first career NFL start after Tyrek Funderburk struggled last week. The Bucs had no other options with Jamel Dean on injured reserve with a hamstring injury, but this was a difficult task. However, Hayes was able to recover a forced fumble from Tykee Smith to Travis Kelce.

Amazing statistics: Although defensive tackles Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey each recorded two sacks, the Bucs took a passive approach to pressure on Mahomes – just as they did in Super Bowl LV. They completed just 13% of Mahomes' dropbacks in the first three quarters, the second-lowest percentage of Bowles' time with the Bucs. Bowles' 11% blitz rate in Super Bowl LV is the lowest of his defensive tenure. – Jenna Laine

Next game: vs. 49ers (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)