Not many gave the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a chance Monday night to be the first team to hand the mighty Kansas City Chiefs their first loss of the season. Not when they were without wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.
The football public guessed correctly, but the shorthanded Buccaneers might have provided the blueprint for how to beat the Chiefs when it truly matters. For starters, go for two when you’re one play away from knocking off the undefeated, back-to-back champions at their house. Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles will have to live down not going for the two-point conversion near the end of regulation in the Buccaneers’ 30–24 loss to the Chiefs in overtime. Kansas City will relish its seventh comeback win after improving to 8–0.
It looked even more bleak for Tampa Bay for the first three quarters, but the Buccaneers hung around with the way Baker Mayfield utilized impressive tight end Cade Otton to move upfield against the best defense of the past two and a half years. It was nitpicking, but it wasn’t a reach to say the Chiefs have a problem defending tight ends. Finally, an area to attack Steve Spagnuolo’s defense had been exposed.
Then the meticulous search for a Chiefs weakness stopped when perhaps the only way of beating the reigning champions in the postseason stared everyone in the face as Mahomes was helped off the field after landing awkwardly during a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. For a few minutes, Chiefs fans worried whether Mahomes would be O.K. to return to the field to continue the quest for a perfect season and capture a third consecutive Lombardi trophy. The social media doctors came out in full force attempting to guess the extent of Mahomes’s ankle injury, while the Chiefs’ foes tried their best to put away the bad thoughts lingering in the back of their minds.
No real competitor wants to beat the Chiefs without Mahomes. But everyone at Arrowhead Stadium had a collective exhale when Mahomes sprinted out of the blue medical tent. And the Buccaneers said bring it on as they pushed the last undefeated team in the NFL to overtime.
The Buccaneers gained plenty of respect for being only the second team to score more than 20 points on the Chiefs’ defense, and gained even more admiration for having a counter shot after Mahomes’s return stole all the momentum. Mayfield orchestrated a 10-play, 71-yard touchdown drive that finished with a one-yard score to Ryan Miller to tie the game at 24 with 27 seconds left in regulation. That’s when Bowles missed his opportunity to hand the Chiefs their first loss and possibly save Tampa Bay’s season. They’re now 4–5 and trail the Atlanta Falcons (6–3) by two games in the NFC South standings having already lost the season series to Atlanta.
So, back to that one weakness. future Chiefs’ opponents should watch closely what Mayfield and Otton did in the first three quarters. And, yes, it’s nitpicking because Mahomes was sensational in the fourth quarter and finished 34-of-44 for 291 yards, three touchdowns and no interception.
The Chiefs’ defense has had trouble defending tight ends George Kittle, Mike Gesicki, Isaiah Likely and Otton, who recorded eight catches for 77 yards and one touchdown on Monday night. But maybe it’s a waste of time searching for a weakness in the Chiefs’ defense when Mahomes is punishing secondaries with DeAndre Hopkins (eight catches, 88 yards, two touchdowns) and Kareem Hunt (106 rushing yards, one touchdown) is churning out yards on the ground. Oh, and Travis Kelce had another vintage performance, recording 14 catches for 100 yards vs. the Buccaneers.
It was the first time the Chiefs’ offense cracked 30 points this season and it might have been their best offensive performance of the year. But all hope isn’t lost for those who are tired of seeing the Chiefs win every week. The Buccaneers proved the Chiefs are beatable, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Kansas City lose a couple of games before the playoffs. But this team probably doesn’t care about a perfect season. They’re aiming to become the first team to win three consecutive Super Bowls.
Maybe the Buccaneers did show something useful that the Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers or even the rising Los Angeles Chargers could use when the games matter most. But remember, you come at the king, you best not miss. Learn from Bowles’s mistake.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Chiefs Give Their AFC Foes Plenty to Think About in OT Win vs. Bucs.
