How the Chiefs defense saved the day with a stellar fourth-quarter performance

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As the sun above Arrowhead Stadium began to set, the third quarter ended with the Kansas City Chiefs’ opponent — the Cincinnati Bengals, their brazen and outspoken rival for the past three years — celebrating.

Bengals cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt finished the play holding the ball high with his right hand, the same hand he used to make an impressive one-handed interception. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes trotted off the field and shouted an expletive.

With 15 minutes left in Sunday’s game, Mahomes knew the Chiefs had no one to blame but themselves for their predicament, a five-point deficit with the Bengals grabbing the momentum.

Similar to several games last season, the Chiefs offense sputtered, producing as many giveaways (three) as scoring drives, burdening their defense.

“Obviously, I want the offense to be high-flying and explosive,” said Mahomes, who threw two interceptions. “But I feel in years past, if I played like we did today offensively, we would’ve lost this game.”

Instead, Mahomes watched the Chiefs’ defenders manufacture a near-flawless fourth quarter — and create the biggest game-changing moments — to lift the team to a 26-25 comeback victory to start the season 2-0.

Two plays after Mahomes’ interception, pass rusher Chris Jones blew up a Bengals screen pass, forcing quarterback Joe Burrow to throw an incompletion. The following play, a third-and-10 snap, surprised many of the Chiefs, including the one who ended up with the ball in his hands. Jones created pressure on Burrow, who tried to scramble out of the pocket. But Burrow was sandwiched by defensive end Mike Danna and defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton, a chain-reaction collision that surprised Burrow enough to force him to fumble the ball.

“I didn’t hear the whistle, so I just picked it up and took it to the house,” said safety Chamarri Conner, who scored the Chiefs’ lone touchdown of the fourth quarter on a 38-yard return. Conner later added of his score: “The last time was (in) high school. That was an amazing feeling.”

Danna finished the highlight kneeling on the turf, unsure if the Chiefs’ touchdown counted. When officials reviewed the play, they saw Wharton’s left hand knock the ball free while Burrow fell to the turf.

“I saw (Burrow) roll out and I just tried to make a play on the ball,” Danna said. “I didn’t even know the ball came out.”

In yet another close game against Burrow, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and his players did more than enough — often providing bend-but-don’t-break resistance — to give the Chiefs offense more opportunities for redemption.

The Bengals (0-2), as they did for much of the game, moved into Chiefs territory on their ensuing possession. The sixth play of the drive ended with Burrow completing a short pass to receiver Ja’Marr Chase to set up a third-and-6 snap at the Chiefs’ 30-yard line. But after the play, Chase was furious with the officials, pleading for a hip-drop tackle penalty on cornerback Trent McDuffie. Chase became more enraged when referee Alex Kemp disagreed. Kemp responded by flagging Chase with a 15-yard unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty.

“It’s just simply abusive language toward a game official,” Kemp said in a pool report. “The simple answer is profanity used by grown men versus direct, personal abusive language toward a game official. That’s the line. When that line gets crossed, we simply can’t let that happen.”

Last season, the Chiefs’ secondary was able to irritate Chase in a 25-17 Kansas City victory. Former Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed lined up across from Chase on 21 of his 34 routes, surrendering just two receptions for 27 yards, according to Next Gen Stats. Sneed also stuck as close as he could to Chase as an intimidation tactic, even after plays, and shoved him a few times, which led to a skirmish before halftime.

Against McDuffie, Chase never made a highlight. The Bengals were close to scoring a 4-yard touchdown on the game’s opening drive, but McDuffie made a diving pass breakup in the back of the end zone to prevent Chase from scoring. McDuffie lined up across from Chase on 17 of 38 routes (45 percent) and allowed just one reception for 4 yards on two targets, according to Next Gen Stats.

In the fourth quarter, McDuffie responded to Chase being penalized by applauding Kemp’s decision. Instead of having a manageable third down, Chase’s penalty put the Bengals in a third-and-22 snap. After a short completion, the Bengals had Evan McPherson kick a 53-yard field goal to take just a two-point lead.

“We know what he’s about and we just do our job to a point where you mess him up,” McDuffie said of Chase. “You don’t have to do anything extra, just not allow him to catch the ball. As a receiver, that’s frustrating. I get it. Just not getting him the ball, I feel, is the biggest thing for us to get in his head.”

The issue for the Chiefs, though, is that they didn’t move the ball past their 30-yard line on their next possession. Rookie left tackle Kingsley Suamataia lost a one-on-one matchup against defensive end Trey Hendrickson that led to Mahomes being sacked, then committed a holding penalty on the next play to negate a 41-yard reception for tight end Travis Kelce. Coach Andy Reid responded by benching Suamataia for second-year tackle Wanya Morris.

“We have a great team,” Mahomes said. “The defense and special teams made plays. I’m excited for it because we’re not even playing our best and we’re still getting these wins.”

Needing to generate another stop, Spagnuolo employed one of his most aggressive zone blitzes.

“I love it,” McDuffie said. “It just shows that Spags has the utmost respect for the DBs. He really relies on us and trusts us to do our job. I always tell Spags, ‘Heat them up, man, and we’re going to get it done on the back end.’

When the Bengals had third-and-6 near midfield, Conner lined up at his usual spot in the secondary. But he moved closer and closer to the line just before the ball was snapped, becoming the fifth defender to attack Burrow. When Burrow didn’t like what he saw on the left side of the field, he turned his head to the right and immediately saw Conner, who sacked him for a 9-yard loss.

“Coach Spags called a great play,” Conner said. “He dialed it up and it was wide open for me. I knew I couldn’t miss the layup. Usually, you want to slow down and get your feet under you to make sure you don’t miss the tackle. But in that situation, I tried to hit (Burrow) as fast as I could.”

The Chiefs’ defenders then watched Mahomes use the final two minutes and 35 seconds to orchestrate the 23rd game-winning drive of his career (including the postseason), though Sunday’s was unconventional.

The Chiefs were able to get into field goal range because Bengals rookie safety Daijahn Anthony committed a pass-interference penalty — hitting receiver Rashee Rice before the ball arrived — on a fourth-and-16 play with less than a minute remaining. The Chiefs never gained another passing yard. Mahomes instead handed the ball twice to rookie fullback Carson Steele to help give kicker Harrison Butker the game-winning opportunity. Butker knew he’d made his 51-yard field goal before the ball went through the uprights as time expired.

“He’s one of the best closers in the game and we know that,” Danna said of Butker. “We’ve seen him do it … 100 times. We had all the faith in Butker and he delivered.”