Offense wakes up in the second half as Chiefs defeat Giants

Pete Sweeney, The Kansas City Star on Sep 21, 2025

Published in Football

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Chiefs visited the Giants on "Sunday Night Football" and secured their first win of the 2025 season by beating New York 22-9 at Metlife Stadium.

Here are some observations about Kansas City’s Week 3 NFL victory:

The turning point: Mahomes saves the Chiefs from a critical turnover

Lightning struck twice the second quarter — with a second backward pass to Isiah Pacheco resulting in a fumble and near-turnover. Patrick Mahomes’ hustle play made for the turning point of the game.

The Giants had just scored the first touchdown of the game, and after a missed extra point, had tied it at 6. Deep in the Chiefs territory, the ball was up for grabs … again.

The lateral was just out of Pacheco’s reach, and as he was disillusioned, Giants linebacker Bobby Okereke scooped it up with what appeared to be a clear path to the end zone. Mahomes shouldered Okereke, causing him to fumble, and he dove on the ball to keep possession.

Had Mahomes not made such an outstanding defensive play, New York would have scored two touchdowns in the matter of 20 seconds, and who knows how it plays out from there?

Instead, Mahomes handed it off to Kareem Hunt on third-and-25, taking the medicine and allowing Matt Araiza to punt it away.

Four plays later, the Chiefs had the ball back via Jaylen Watson’s interception, and they took advantage of the turnover to lead 9-6 at the half.

Rapid reaction: A tale of two halves for the offense

The Chiefs’ win at Metlife Stadium could be a considered a tale of two halves for the offense, though it wasn’t really your classic bad-then-great performance.

On Sunday night, the offense went from sleeping to stirring — with the second-half progress being something to build upon.

There was tension early — cameras once again showed Travis Kelce jawing with Andy Reid — but he later made the most important play of the Chiefs’ scoring drive to open the third quarter, showcasing the token athleticism that seemed absent last year. On third-and-3, Kelce shook off a defender with a double move, receiving the pass from Mahomes and taking it 13 yards up the field for the first down.

Brashard Smith and Isiah Pacheco runs moved Kansas City inside the 10, and on another third down at the goal line, the offensive line provided Mahomes enough time to see Tyquan Thornton on what looked to be his third read on the play.

Thornton secured the ball for the first of the Chiefs’ two touchdowns in the game.

The second half was a step in the right direction, but I’m not sure the Chiefs are suddenly fixed. Wide receiver Rashee Rice will be back in the building on Monday, but he won’t be available to play for four more weeks. There is growing optimism that receiver Xavier Worthy may return next week, but whether he can provide the same boost playing through a shoulder injury remains to be seen.

The second-half offensive effort was good enough against the Giants — in part thanks to a tremendous defensive performance, but can the offense find its complete stride enough to beat the Baltimore Ravens?

The offense will need to start fast, something it hasn’t done in three straight games to start the season.

Critical stat: The Chiefs found every penalty in the book

One thing the Chiefs can’t afford against the Ravens is penalties.

On Sunday night, Kansas City was penalized eight times for 85 yards, and it somehow found a way to find eight unique infractions.

The eight penalties included offensive holding, illegal formation, roughing the passer, defensive holding, fair-catch interference, pulling the face mask, defensive pass interference and unsportsmanlike conduct.

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