Chiefs 41, Buccaneers 31 | When Mahomes pulls rabbits out of his hat…

As had been the case at 55^e Super Bowl that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs had disputed, there was very little suspense during their reunion evening. But this time, it was the Chiefs who picked up an easy win Sunday night at Tampa Bay.

Miguel Bujold
The Press

On the first game of the night, Bucs returner Rachaad White fumbled the ball, which was recovered at their 21-line by the Chiefs. Travis Kelce scored the game’s first touchdown two plays later and it was on.

The Buccaneers (2-2) defense never managed to contain Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs (3-1), who had a comfortable lead throughout the game and won, 41-31. Bottled during the Super Bowl twenty months ago, the Chiefs’ offense was as effective through the pass as it was on the ground.

There were two key differences from the previous match between the two teams: Mahomes was not mortgaged by a toe injury and, rather than playing behind a patched line, he was able to benefit from a strong performance from the one of the good quintets on the circuit.

Mahomes looked like the quarterback who dazzled the NFL in his first seasons as a starter in 2018 and 2019. He notably managed an underhand pass like only he knows how to do and another like throwing a basketball. on a Clyde Edwards-Helaire touchdown. His final statistics (23 of 37 for 249 yards, 3 touchdowns and an interception) do not do justice to the brilliance he demonstrated.

Along with his early touchdown, Kelce led the team with 9 catches and 92 yards. Eight players have caught at least one pass from Mahomes.

Led by Edwards-Helaire and rookie Isiah Pacheco, the Chiefs rushed 189 yards into the beak of the Bucs, who are rarely outplayed by running like this – if ever.

It was quite the opposite on the other side of the ball. The Bucs only ran six times for a grand total of 3 yards. It is therefore entirely on the shoulders of Tom Brady that their hopes of victory rested.

Brady contributed 39 passes on 52 attempts for 385 yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. That said, many of these stats were obtained while the match was out of reach at 4^e quarter.

In Brady’s case, no less than 10 players caught at least one of his passes. Mike Evans led the way with 8 catches for 103 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Returning to action after missing the last two games with a thigh injury, Chris Godwin left the game with another injury after catching 7 assists. As for them, Julio Jones and Russell Gage caught only one ball each.

It’s not easy playing catch-up football against the Chiefs when Mahomes is at his peak, and it was already 21-3 for Kansas City with less than 20 minutes to go.

The Bills in two weeks

Despite allowing 31 points, the Chiefs’ defense played well overall. The addition of two first-round picks last April, defensive end George Karlafis and cornerback Jaylen Watson, bailed out a unit that struggled in the second half of last year.

The Chiefs will play their next two games at home, against the Las Vegas Raiders next Monday, then against the Buffalo Bills on October 16. We can certainly speak of the most anticipated game of the season in the case of the duel Bills-Chiefs, who had played an epic battle in the second round of the playoffs in January. The game that forced the NFL to adjust its rules for overtime…

As for them, Brady and the Bucs are coming off two straight losses on their home turf, but will have the opportunity to get back up and running over the next few weeks. After hosting the Atlanta Falcons next Sunday, they will visit the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Carolina Panthers, two teams looking for each other.

Looking at Brady’s facial expression, it sometimes feels like he’s wondering if he made the right choice in coming out of his 40-day retirement to play a 23^e season. But we are at the beginning of October. This is likely to change in the coming months.

Elsewhere in the NFL

The hero: Cooper Rush

It’s not so much for what Rush accomplished on Sunday that he’s on our honor roll, but for his total performance during the absence of Dak Prescott, who could return to action next week. Rush won all three of his starts and saved the Dallas Cowboys’ season, which already seemed over after a week. On Sunday, the fifth-year quarterback completed 15 of 27 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns in a 25-10 win over the Washington Commanders.

Zero: John Harbaugh

Harbaugh’s decision to go for a touchdown rather than go for a field goal on fourth down when it was 20-20 between his Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills is defendable. Still, Lamar Jackson’s interception on that fourth down essentially sank the Ravens, who lost 23-20 after blowing a 17-point lead. It wasn’t the first time Harbaugh had made a controversial decision at the goal gate late in the game.

The number: 500

Aaron Rodgers hit the 500 career touchdown pass mark in the Green Bay Packers’ 27-24 overtime win over the New England Patriots, joining a select club that includes only Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning and Brett Favre.

It’s going to talk: the quarters in Pittsburgh

After three and a half games, Mike Tomlin had seen enough and replaced Mitch Trubisky with Kenny Pickett, much to the relief of Pittsburgh Steelers fans… Pickett had three interceptions, but two of those were forgivable. He completed his other 10 passes and scored 2 rushing touchdowns in the Steelers’ 24-20 loss to the New York Jets. Tomlin, however, would not confirm that Pickett would be the starter next Sunday. If not, riots are expected in western Pennsylvania.