Last New Year’s Eve, the Kansas City Chiefs collected a 25-17 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, beginning a six-game winning streak that extended through their second consecutive Super Bowl victory in February — and the first seven games of the 2024 season. With Monday night’s 30-24 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, that streak was increased to a franchise-record 14 games, extending their 2024 record to 8-0 as they continue their quest for a third straight Super Bowl win.
First quarter
The Buccaneers won the opening coin toss, and deferred the decision to the second half. That put the Chiefs in position to start with the ball on the 30-yard line after a touchback.
Tight end Travis Kelce made two early catches, one igniting the crowd by jumping up for a ball over the middle in tight coverage. That put the Chiefs past midfield, then Kelce pushed further with a strong out-breaking route that got him open down to the 33-yard line. It appeared wide receiver Xavier Worthy found room for a completion to the one-yard line, but he was not able to stay in bounds to finish the play.
That killed the drive; two plays later, Bucs’ defensive tackle Vita Vea sacked quarterback Patrick Mahomes to officially end the scoring threat. The Chiefs punted to Tampa Bay.
The Bucs moved the chains with a few effective quick passes to start the drive, but the Chiefs’ defense nearly came up with an interception early. Safety Justin Reid lurked over the middle and got his hands on a pass but couldn’t complete the catch. That set up third down, where the pass rush came through and batted a pass down. That forced a punt.
It was wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins’ turn to get a drive going. He earned 25 yards over two receptions, the second moving the chains on a slant over the middle. A second-down scramble by Mahomes moved the Chiefs to the Bucs’ 20-yard line, but the offense was set back on a blown up reverse to Worthy.
It led to third and 16 from the 26-yard line. The Chiefs played it conservatively with a screen pass to running back Samaje Perine, setting up a field goal. The successful kick gave Kansas City a 3-0 lead with two minutes to go in the first period.
The Bucs’ run game was stuffed with authority on two straight plays to start this drive. On third down, defensive end George Karlaftis wrapped up quarterback Baker Mayfield for a sack — but it was negated by a defensive holding call. That led into the second quarter.
Second quarter
An inexcusable delay of game by Tampa Bay to start the quarter did not set them back. An 11-yard gain by tight end Cade Otton was followed by a jet sweep handoff that gained 19 yards on third and short.
In good position at the Chiefs’ 33-yard line, the Bucs continued a strong possession with creative ways to get running back Bucky Irving running room. He pushed to the 21-yard line after a nice run. The Chiefs tightened up in the red zone, then couldn’t get home on the blitz and allowed a third-down conversion.
That was followed up by a touchdown run by running back Rachaad White, a Kansas City native. He put the Bucs in front 7-3.
Wide receiver Justin Watson found room for a 12-yard gain to get the next drive going. However, Mahomes was dragged down for a sack two plays later. Watson got open again, this time gaining 19 yards and advancing past midfield. The drive turned to third down, and a desperate Mahomes gave Hopkins a chance in triple coverage. Hopkins came down with it at the three-yard line.
Two runs couldn’t reach the goal line, but Mahomes found Hopkins in the back of the end zone to finish the 11-play drive. That gave the Chiefs a 10-7 lead.
With a lead to defend, the Chiefs’ defense went to work. Karlaftis ripped past a tight end into the backfield for a sack, and a screen pass on third down was chased down by new Chiefs’ edge rusher Joshua Uche.
After the two-minute warning, the Chiefs started with possession at the 17-yard line. The drive started with a good gain by running back Samaje Perine, but it was followed by two incompletions. That led to third and 10, where Mahomes found Kelce over the middle for 20 yards near midfield.
A deep throw to Watson nearly hit, but was a little too far into the end zone. One play later, Kelce was stripped of the ball running after the catch and gave the Bucs possession.
Under a minute to go in the half, the Chiefs’ defense stiffened up to force third down quickly. A holding penalty negated a conversion for the Bucs, and the following play was stopped short of the sticks. That forced a punt near the 50-yard line with 30 seconds left.
The Chiefs looked to get in position for a field goal before halftime, getting to the 30-yard line and calling a timeout. That was followed up by a sack, ending the threat and the first half.
Third quarter
Tampa Bay got a big return to start the second half, getting all the way to the 49-yard line. The offense ran the ball three straight plays to gain a first down, and got 15 more yards because cornerback Joshua Williams made a horse-collar tackle. Two positive plays later, Tampa Bay threatened from the 11-yard line.
Tight end Cade Otton ran a wheel route to the end zone past Justin Reid for a touchdown, putting the Bucs ahead 14-10.
The Chiefs’ offense could not answer the Bucs’ touchdown, following two incompletions with a 12-yard sack. It was a three and out.
Tampa Bay picked up where they left off on their last possession, finding Otton for an 18-yard gain to start it. The defense did push to third down, but Otton was the player moving the chains once again. The drive was set back with a facemask penalty by the Bucs, leading to a third and 18. The screen pass was tackled short of the sticks, but gave Tampa Bay an opportunity to make a field goal and take a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs leaned on Hunt to get the possession rolling, then wide receiver Mecole Hardman moved the chains with a catch and run. That got the Chiefs in Tampa Bay territory, and Hunt took them further with a 15-yard gain that ended at the 20-yard line. The committed run game continued to the Bucs’ 10-yard line as the third quarter ended.
Fourth quarter
An attempt to score with a designed shovel pass to Kelce failed, but Mahomes manufactured a touchdown by scrambling, attracting the defense then throwing a ball over the heads of those defenders. That tied the game 17-17.
The rain affected the Bucs’ offense, who missed a second-down pass then couldn’t go anywhere on third down. The Mayfield scramble was stopped short of the sticks, leading to a punt back to Kansas City.
The run game continued to be featured by the Chiefs, using four-straight handoffs to earn a first down and near midfield on this drive. That was followed up with a clean catch and run by Hardman to gain 12 yards and work to the Bucs’ 39-yard line. Watson also gained 12 yards on a catch soon after. Hunt then took it to the nine-yard line with a 13-yard run.
It turned into third and goal, and Mahomes went to his new target once again: Hopkins caught the contested slant, putting the Chiefs up 24-17.
With four minutes to go, Mayfield looked to orchestrate a game-tying drive, but he was sacked on the initial second down, and forced incomplete on third down. The Bucs elected to punt back to the Chiefs with less than three minutes to go.
The Chiefs ran the ball, forcing timeouts to be called until third down. The conversion attempt was doomed by a drop in the backfield, forcing Kansas City to punt back to Tampa Bay.
The Bucs had a holding penalty set them back immediately, then made 14 yards back on the next play to get to the 33-yard line before the two-minute warning.
Tampa Bay found a rhythm from there. Mayfield used short throws to march down the field, and eventually broke through to the one-yard line with 30 seconds left. The Bucs found a way to punch it in from there, tying the game 24-24 with 27 seconds on the clock.
Looking to gain enough yards to kick a field goal, the Chiefs weren’t able to do anything productive, punting back to the Buccaneers and setting up overtime.
Overtime
The Chiefs won the overtime coin toss and started with the ball. Hunt took a dumped-off pass and gained 11 yards, then the Chiefs got another first down with Kelce taking a quick flip from Mahomes. Past midfield, Mahomes gave Hopkins a short pass, and he forced a missed tackle to get to the Bucs’ 28-yard line.
Kansas City moved closer to a game-clinching touchdown with a 15-yard catch and run by Kelce. A five-yard run by Hunt followed, moving to the Tampa Bay six-yard line. Kelce tried to take it in himself, but Hunt sealed the deal on the next play with a two-yard run. The Chiefs survived the scare, winning 30-24 in overtime.
Injuries
Wide receiver Mecole Hardman stayed down after a big return in the first quarter. He walked to the locker room favoring his right shoulder.
Defensive end George Karlaftis and defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton stayed down after a play in the third quarter. Both players returned quickly.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes awkwardly planted on his right knee as he threw in the fourth quarter. He had to be helped to the blue tent. He returned on the next possession and never missed a snap.
Special Teams
Punter Matt Araiza booted his first punt down to the six-yard line in the first quarter. He had three other punts in the game.
Kicker Harrison Butker made a 40-yard field goal in the first quarter. He made his first point-after attempt in the second quarter. He followed that up with two other extra points.
Punt returner Mecole Hardman found space for a 30-yard gain up the sideline on his first return.
