Mahomes, Hunt and the defense rock the house, as Chiefs defeat Bengals 45-10

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, running back Kareem Hunt — and even the Chiefs defense — dominated the Cincinnati Bengals at Arrowhead on Sunday night, cruising to a 45-10 victory that elevated their season record to 6-1

Full game stats from NFL.com

First quarter

The Chiefs won the toss, and elected to receive the second half kickoff. Starting at their own 25 after a touchback, the Bengals went three and out on their first possession after A.J. Green dropped a short pass on second down, and Joe Mixon was stopped by a swarm of Chiefs on third and five.

Tyreek Hill got a 27-yard return on the Bengals punt, but the Chiefs were pushed back to their own five-yard line after a holding penalty was called on Josh Shaw. Hill got it all back on the next play, when he caught a short pass from Patrick Mahomes that the speedy receiver was able to turn into a 27-yard gain.

Four plays later, the Chiefs were across midfield after receptions by Demarcus Robinson and Kareem Hunt. An eight-yard run from Hunt brought up third and two, and Mahomes converted with a nine-yard keeper, bringing the Chiefs to the Bengals 27-yard line.

After an incompletion to the end zone, Hunt got another handoff. The Bengals had him wrapped up at the line, but Hunt spun free and used an athletic leap — and a lot of tough running — to pick up 21 yards, giving the Chiefs first and goal and the Bengals six-yard line.

On the next play, Mahomes rolled right. The Bengals defense committed to defending a Mahomes run, opening up a six-yard touchdown pass to Hunt, which put the Chiefs in front 7-0 with just over eight minutes remaining in the first quarter.

On the ensuing kickoff — which Alex Erickson returned to the 24-yard line — Brandon Wilson was penalized for unnecessary roughness, pushing the Bengals back to their own five-yard line. Cincinnati got a first down on a pass to Green and a three-yard rush by Mixon. Then tight end C.J. Uzomah was flagged for a false start, which brought up second and 15. Dalton then hit Green with a 30-yard pass down the left sideline, bringing the Bengals near midfield.

After a short rush by Mixon and a shovel pass to Erickson that Chris Jones stuffed for a loss, Dee Ford sacked Dalton on two successive plays. On the first, Ford was flagged for being offsides, bringing up third and three. The four-yard loss on the second sack forced another Bengals punt.

Starting at their own 22-yard line, the Chiefs got a short rush from Hunt and a six-yard reception to Chris Conley. On third and three, Mahomes found Travis Kelce in the left flat, and Kelce turned the corner, breaking it for a 43-yard gain to the Bengals 28-yard line.

After an incompletion to Watkins and a false start penalty called on Cam Erving, the Bengals sniffed out a screen pass, and dropped Spencer Ware for a two-yard loss. On third and 17. Mahomes was forced from the pocket and found Watkins for a 25-yard gain, but Cincinnati challenged the completion, and it was overturned.

That forced a 53-yard field goal attempt, which Harrison Butker missed wide left — his first missed field goal of the season.

Second quarter

Starting at their own 43-yard line, the Bengals quickly found themselves at third and four, and Bobby Hart was called for a false start. On third and long, the Chiefs blitzed, and Dalton was unable to connect on a pass to Mixon, forcing the third Bengals punt.

On the punt play, the Bengals — on their own 44 — tried some trickery with a direct snap to the short man Clayton Fejedelem, who couldn’t field it cleanly, and was promptly smothered in the backfield.

The Chiefs got the ball at the Bengals 32-yard line. Hunt picked up a yard on a rush, Hill got 16 on reception, and then Mahomes found Hunt with a short pass to the right. Hunt broke multiple tackles his way to end zone pylon, and the Chiefs led 14-0 with 13:18 remaining in the half.

On the next Bengals drive — starting at their own 23-yard line after a 20-yard kickoff return by Erickson — penalties played a big role. Three were called on the first three plays — two on the Chiefs and one on the Bengals. When the flags settled, the Bengals were in first and five at their own 33. Mixon gained eight yards on a rush, and then the Bengals got 21 yards on a pair of passes to Green.

Two plays later, Dalton hit Green with a 20-yard pass that took them to the Chiefs 30-yard line. Then the teams traded penalties again — one of them the second time in the drive the Chiefs were flagged for 12 men on the field — and Dalton hit Green once more with a 31-yard pass that gave Cincinnati a first and goal and the Kansas City 4-yard line. Two passes fell incomplete, but on third down, Dalton hit Uzomah in the end zone, and the Chiefs led 14-7 with 7:25 remaining in the half.

Tremon Smith returned the kickoff to the 23-yard line, and the Chiefs went to work. Passes to Hunt, Sammy Watkins, Ware and Hill got the Chiefs to midfield. Hunt picked up another first down with an 11-yard run. Mahomes scrambled for 10 to pick up another. Ware got the Chiefs into the red zone with a three-yard run, but then Mahomes was sacked for a four-yard loss right at the two minute warning.

With the Chiefs facing third and 11 at the Bengals 22, the Bengals jumped offsides, bringing the Chiefs back inside their 20-yard line. On the next play, the Bengals failed to account for Demetrius Harris, and Mahomes hit him with a 17-yard touchdown pass that put the Chiefs ahead 21-7 with 1:55 remaining.

Butker’s kickoff went out of bounds, giving the Bengals the ball at the 40-yard line. Mixon got a three-yard rush, Dalton couldn’t connect with Green on second down, and on third down, Steven Nelson knocked away another pass to Green, forcing another punt.

Starting at the 20 — with 1:13 remaining — the Chiefs got 26 yards on a pair of passes to Kelce, bringing them to the 46. On the next play, Mahomes couldn’t find an open receiver, and scrambled for 23 yards. After that, he went to Ware, who made a diving catch at the Bengals nine-yard line good for 22 yards.

But the Chiefs couldn’t fully capitalize. After a pair of incompletions and and one-yard gain on a pass to Hill, they had to settle for a 26-yard field goal, ending the half with the Chiefs leading 24-7.

Third quarter

The Chiefs kept up the offensive pressure on the opening drive of the second half. Starting at the 25 after a touchback, Mahomes immediately went deep to Watkins, who broke for a 50-yard gain. After a Hunt run and a pass to Kelce, the Chiefs were at the Bengals 14 with a first and 10. Three plays later, Hunt bulled his way into the end zone — with a lot of help from his friends — for his third touchdown of the night, and the Chiefs led 31-7.

But the Chiefs defense wanted to maintain pressure, too. So on the next play from scrimmage — as Dalton tried to find Green to open the next drive — Ron Parker picked off Dalton’s pass and returned it for a touchdown. Only 3:50 into the second half, the Chiefs led 38-7.

Starting at the 25 after a touchback, the Bengals went to Mixon on the ground, who whipped off 20 yards to start the drive. A pair of completions to Tyler Boyd put the Bengals into Chiefs territory, and a defensive pass interference penalty called on Jordan Lucas gave them a first down at the Chiefs 30. Another completion to Boyd gave them another first down at the Chiefs 17, but then the Bengals drive sputtered, and they had to settle for a 33-yard Randy Bullock field goal, narrowing the Chiefs lead to 38-10 with 6:20 remaining in the third quarter.

After a touchback, the Bengals got a turnover of their own, intercepting Mahomes when he underthrew a deep pass to Hill in traffic. Their good fortune gave them the ball at their own 48-yard line, but the Chiefs defense was unrelenting on the next drive. After Dorian O’Daniel dropped Mixon for a four-yard loss on second down, Jones sacked Dalton for an 11-yard loss, forcing yet another Bengals punt.

Starting at their own 18, the Chiefs converted a third and eight with a 13-yard pass to Hill. Two plays later, Mahomes converted a third and one with a scramble, and followed it with a pass to Kelce that his tight end turned into a 20 yard gain, giving the Chiefs a first down at the Bengals 35.

Fourth quarter

On the next play, Hill dropped a pass in the end zone — but he would atone for it three plays later. After a 16-yard pass to Hunt and two consecutive unnecessary roughness penalties against the Bengals, Mahomes found Hill for a three-yard touchdown pass, and the Chiefs led 45-10 with 12:50 remaining in the game.

A touchback started the Bengals at their own 25. Three passes to Green — two of them incomplete — netted only seven yards, and the Bengals were forced to punt.

Starting at their own 10 after an 11-yard punt return from Demarcus Robinson and an illegal block penalty called on Josh Shaw, the Chiefs shifted into low gear, staying mostly on the ground — and mostly with Ware. In a 12-play drive, the Chiefs threw only two passes, marching to the Cincinnati five-yard line with 54 rushing yards from Ware — including a 34-yard run. Then facing fourth and four, the Chiefs went with Ware again. Ware couldn’t convert, and Bengals took over at their own three-yard line.

Jeff Driskel came in at quarterback for the Bengals with 4:14 remaining in the game, and the Bengals couldn’t even a manage a garbage-time score, completing the Chiefs’ 45-10 victory.

Full game stats from NFL.com

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Stats Headlines

Patrick Mahomes passed for for 358 yards, completing 28 passes on 39 attempts, with four passing touchdowns and an interception. He was sacked twice. His performance was good for a passer rating of 123.7.

Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton completed 15 passes on 29 attempts for only 148 yards, with one passing touchdowns and an interception, which worked out to a passer rating of only 63.7. He was sacked twice.

Travis Kelce led Chiefs receivers with 95 yards on five catches. Sammy Watkins had four catches for 74 yards, and Tyreek Hill had seven for 68 yards and a touchdown. Demetrius Harris’ one and only catch was for a touchdown. Eight Chiefs had receptions in the game.

The Chiefs had 198 rushing yards on 29 attempts. Of those, Kareem Hunt had 86 yards and a touchdown on 15 rushing attempts, plus five receptions for 55 yards and two touchdowns.

The Bengals rushed for just 65 yards on 19 attempts against the Chiefs defense, including 50 yards on 13 carries from Joe Mixon.

The Chiefs defense allowed just 239 yards on Sunday night — far and away the lowest number of any game this season.

Injuries

Terrance Smith was injured in the second quarter covering a kickoff. He was transported to the locker room on a cart. After the game, head coach Andy Reid said he had been evaluated with a sprained right knee.

Inactives

Safety Eric Berry, linebackers Justin Houston and Nate Orchard, offensive linemen Mitch Morse and Kahlil McKenzie, defensive lineman Justin Hamilton and running back Darrel Williams were all inactive for the Chiefs.

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Next week

The Chiefs stay home — and return to their normal Sunday routine — facing the Denver Broncos at 12:00 noon Arrowhead Time.

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