Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – The Kansas City Chiefs preserved their unbeaten start to the NFL season after blocking a last-gasp field goal to snatch a dramatic 16-14 victory over the Denver Broncos on Sunday. The reigning Super Bowl champions looked poised to suffer their first defeat of the campaign after rookie Broncos quarterback Bo Nix expertly engineered a late fourth-quarter drive to the Kansas City 17-yard line. That left Wil Lutz with what should have been a straightforward 35-yard chip shot to win the game with the final kick of an absorbing clash at Arrowhead Stadium.
But Lutz and the Broncos were left stunned after Chiefs defensive end Mike Danna got a hand to the kick to block the attempt and leave Kansas City exhaling a collective sigh of relief. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes raced across the field in celebration with his teammates as Kansas City sealed a win that sees them improve to 9-0 for the season.
Related news
“It just speaks to this entire team,” Mahomes said of Kansas City’s great escape. “I felt offensively we didn’t do enough. Defensively we stepped it up in the second half, and then special teams… we’re a full team. It’s everybody, it was a special moment. Everybody believes, no one has any doubts, we just keep pushing and we found a way in the end.”
The defeat was hard on Broncos signal-caller Nix, who had shown superb composure throughout to help Denver take a 14-3 second-quarter lead thanks to touchdown passes to wide receivers Devaughn Vele and Courtland Sutton. Denver’s defense, meanwhile, gave Mahomes and the Chiefs offense a torrid time, sacking the Kansas City quarterback four times. Mahomes gradually got his team back into the game, connecting with Travis Kelce for a touchdown that made it 14-10 at the half, before two Harrison Butker field goals in the second half gave them a slender 16-14 lead, setting up the closing drama.
– Steelers pip Commanders –
The Washington Commanders suffered an agonizing 28-27 defeat in a thrilling shootout with the Pittsburgh Steelers that was effectively decided by a matter of inches. Pittsburgh took a one-point lead with 2min 22sec remaining after quarterback Russell Wilson floated a sublime pass to new receiver Mike Williams for a 32-yard touchdown. Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels then sought to maneuver his team into position for a winning field goal, but a fourth-down completion to Zach Ertz was ruled just inches short of a first down, turning the ball over to Pittsburgh, which held possession to the finish to reach 7-2.
The Philadelphia Eagles also improved to 7-2 and moved ahead of Washington (7-3) atop the NFC East division with a 34-6 rout at Dallas. Jalen Hurts threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more to spark the Eagles, who took five turnovers from the Cowboys. “Defense played a hell of a game. I give them a lot of credit,” Hurts said. “We’ve got to keep building, keep growing, keep learning from everything.”
In a matchup of division leaders, Jake Bates kicked a 52-yard field goal just inside the left upright on the final play to give the Detroit Lions (8-1) a 26-23 victory at Houston (6-4). The Buffalo Bills improved to 8-2 with a 30-20 win at Indianapolis while New England won 19-3 at Chicago. San Francisco edged host Tampa Bay 23-20 as Jake Moody nailed a 44-yard game-winning field goal on the final kick. San Francisco rookie receiver Ricky Pearsall — shot in the chest in a street robbery in August and absent for the first six games of the season — opened the scoring with his first NFL touchdown.
The Carolina Panthers defeated the New York Giants 20-17 with an overtime field goal in the last international fixture of the season in Munich. The New Orleans Saints pipped the Atlanta Falcons 20-17, six days after firing coach Dennis Allen. Justin Herbert threw for 164 yards and a touchdown to spark the Los Angeles Chargers over visiting Tennessee 27-17. Arizona’s Kyler Murray threw for one touchdown and ran for two more in a 31-6 home rout of the New York Jets.
© 2024 AFP
