EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Mistakes and penalties threatened to derail the Kansas City Chiefs again early in a season that had not been going their way. Patrick Mahomes made a couple himself.
“I kept throwing the ball backwards,” Mahomes said. “That's not good.”
Mahomes recovered his backward pass, had plenty of good throws going forward and helped the Chiefs pick up their first win of the season by beating the New York Giants 22-9 on Sunday night. Coach Andy Reid called it “a good win to get, in particular when you haven’t have one.”
“Obviously we didn’t have the start we wanted, but it’s a long season,” said linebacker Nick Bolton, who had a game-high 14 tackles. “We’ve been searching for one win and try to figure out how we can get this thing going. The main thing now is just keep working, keep stacking and try to get another, then get another win.”
Mahomes completed 22 of 37 passes for 224 yards and a touchdown pass to Tyquan Thornton to go along with a momentum-altering recovery by snatching the ball out of defender Bobby Okereke's hands. His on-the-run 33-yard throw to Thornton midway through the fourth quarter set up Kareem Hunt's 1-yard TD run that put the game away and sent many fans to the exits.
The Chiefs (1-2) avoided what would have been their first 0-3 start since 2011, two years before Reid took over and started an era that has included a trio of Super Bowl titles and two additional appearances — including trips the past three seasons.
The Giants fell to 0-3, with Russell Wilson throwing two interceptions and finishing 18 of 32 for 160 yards. Chants of “We want Dart!” followed Wilson's second pick, and while Jaxson Dart got in for a handful of snaps, all were handoffs. The first-round pick and prospective quarterback of the future has yet to attempt a pass in his rookie season.
“When you don’t convert on third down, it’s hard to sustain anything,” coach Brian Daboll said of his team, which converted just once on 10 tries. "On offense, nothing was good enough. I would be booing too.”
Mahomes, who turned 30 this week, ran far less than the first two games, when he was Kansas City's leading rusher each time. Isiah Pacheco had that distinction at New York, recording 45 yards on 10 carries.
Giants rookie Cam Skattebo ran for a touchdown for a second consecutive game and finished with 121 yards from scrimmage. Skattebo shouldered the load in the backfield, sharing time with Devin Singletary after Tyrone Tracy injured his right shoulder late in the first quarter.
Thrown at seven times, Malik Nabers had just two catches for 13 yards. The Chiefs locked down Nabers a week after holding Philadelphia’s A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith to nine receptions for 80 yards.
“That No. 1 is the real deal,” Reid said, referring to Nabers. “For us to be able to put the clamps on him a little bit, that’s not an easy chore. He’s a heck of a football player.”
Injuries
Chiefs: Safety Bryan Cook injured his neck defending Nabers on a long pass attempt by Wilson early in the fourth quarter. Reid said Cook was fine. ... Receiver Xavier Worthy (shoulder) missed a second consecutive game.
Giants: A groin injury to kicker Graham Gano was announced just before the game started. He did not take the field until the fourth quarter, when he made a 25-yard field goal. ... Left tackle Andrew Thomas played for the first time in 11 months since undergoing foot surgery. He was in for the first 26 offensive snaps before rookie Marcus Mbow replaced Thomas late in the first half. Daboll said that was the plan for Thomas' return.
Up next
Chiefs: Host Baltimore next Sunday.
Giants: Host the Los Angeles Chargers next Sunday.