The Kansas City Chiefs outlasted the New York Giants for a 22-9 win, their first since the 2025 AFC Championship Game. With that victory, KC moves into a three-way tie for second-place in the AFC West.
Giants quarterback Russell Wilson was awful tonight, with two interceptions and just 160 passing yards. Meanwhile, Patrick Mahomes threw for 224 yards and a TD.
A promising first drive for the Giants ended abruptly. Even though they picked up 41 yards, they failed to convert a 4th and 3, which led to a turnover on downs deep in Kansas City’s territory. 33 of New York’s 41 yards came on the ground.
The Chiefs were much luckier than the Giants on their first possession. After getting the ball to New York’s 36, KC kicker Harrison Butker doinked a 54-yard field goal off the uprights and through the back of the goalposts for a 3-0 lead.
The G-Men were not able to keep up the offensive clinic they put on last weekend. They opened the game with a turnover on downs and a punt with 58 total yards of offense in the first quarter of the game.
Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes looked like the old version of himself. While scrambling around and avoiding pass rushers, he found a wide-open JuJu Smith-Schuster for 27 yards, which got the Chiefs into enemy territory. However, an illegal formation penalty derailed the drive and forced KC to go for another field goal to extend the lead to 6-0.
The Giants’ first big mistake of the evening came in the second quarter. Russell Wilson threw an interception that looked like it was intended for Chiefs cornerback Chris Roland-Wallace instead of wideout Wan’Dale Robinson. That INT, the second of Roland-Wallace’s career, was returned 23 yards to New York’s side of the field.
Kansas City was not able to make anything happen with good field position. After gaining 25 yards, the Chiefs had to settle for a 40-yard field goal attempt that Harrison Butker missed. Despite making 69 of 75 field goals from 2023 to 2024 in the regular season and the playoffs combined, Butker has already missed two of seven field goal attempts this season.
The Giants finally got on the board thanks to some Russell Wilson passes and KC penalties. On a 3rd and 8, Wilson connected with rookie running back Cam Skattebo for 16 yards. After back-to-back flags on the Chiefs, Skattebo powered his way into the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown run. Unfortunately for the G-Men, the extra point attempt was blocked, so the score was tied 6-6 with a little under two minutes to go in the second quarter.
Big Blue made another massive mistake in the form of a turnover. Even though they started their next drive on Kansas City’s side of the field, they were unable to get any points on that series. Russell Wilson threw his second interception of the night, killing a possession that could’ve given the Giants the lead. Two plays after the interception, Giants fans could be heard chanting “We want Dart,” referring to the rookie second-string quarterback Jaxson Dart, who New York took in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
The Chiefs struck one more time before the break. Patrick Mahomes underthrew a ball, which led to a 52-yard defensive pass interference penalty with seven seconds left in the second quarter. KC wasn’t able to find the end zone from New York’s 11 yard line, so they took the field goal and a 9-6 lead into halftime.
Kansas City came out of the break red hot. They orchestrated a ten-play, 74-yard drive that ended with a five-yard touchdown pass by Patrick Mahomes to wideout Tyquan Thornton, which gave the Chiefs a 16-6 advantage to start the fourth quarter. That is Thornton’s second TD grab in his last two games, which matches his receiving touchdown total from the first three years of his career.
Facing a ten-point deficit in the final frame, the Giants had no choice but to go for it on a 4th and 6 near midfield. Though Russell Wilson threw an incompletion, the Chiefs were penalized for defensive pass interference, which gave New York a new set of downs. Later, during the same drive, the Giants kicked a field goal from Kansas City’s six yard line to cut the lead to 16-9 with 10:12 to go in the game.
The Chiefs had no problem answering the call on their next possession. Tyquan Thornton recorded two catches on that drive for 54 yards. His 33-yard reception got KC down to the one yard line. On the very next play, running back Kareem Hunt punched the ball in for a touchdown, bringing the score to 22-9 late in the fourth quarter after a missed extra point.
The Giants didn’t make it easy for the Chiefs. New York picked up 26 yards on a 4th and 5 to get the ball into the red zone. But after getting it down to the four yard line, Russell Wilson was penalized for intentional grounding and eventually threw back-to-back incompletions, resulting in a turnover on downs, and a win for the Chiefs.
With the loss, the Giants have fallen to 0-3 for the first time in four years. Since the start of last season, Big Blue has only won one home game in its last ten contests at MetLife Stadium.
*Author’s note: all information and statistics are tracked in real time and are provided by the game’s broadcaster, NFL.com, and ESPN.com*
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