There’s a team the Chiefs haven’t defeated since Joe Montana was their quarterback
In the Andy Reid era, the Chiefs have put together impressive winning streaks against several teams. They’re riding a 10-game winning streak over the Broncos, have owned streaks of nine games over the Chargers, five against the Raiders and have beaten the Ravens four straight times.
How about the other direction? What team owns the longest current winning streak against the Chiefs?
At five games, the Tampa Bay Bucs.
Because they’re in different conferences, the Chiefs and Bucs see each other every four years, and Tampa Bay’s winning streak dates to 1999. Trent Dilfer outdueled Elvis Grbac that day.
The teams have started different quarterbacks in each game of the streak. After Grbac it went Trent Green, Tyler Thigpen, Brady Quinn and Alex Smith for the Chiefs. After Dilfer, the Bucs started Brian Griese, Jeff Garcia, Grandview High’s Josh Freeman and Jameis Winston.
The last Chiefs’ triumph in the series occurred in 1993. It was Joe Montana’s debut in a Chiefs’ uniform, and Kansas City won 27-3. Montana threw three touchdown passes but left the game because of a wrist injury.
Sunday, Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady are expected to face off, and it will be the fourth meeting between them with Brady holding a 2-1 edge, including the 2019 AFC Championship Game, with the Patriots.
Here are players to watch besides Mahomes and Brady on Sunday.
Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones
Let’s keep in mind that the Raiders have an excellent offensive line, especially in the middle, and they’ve held all but two opponents to 20 or fewer points this season. But Jones and the defense seem to have a Raiders problem, with the Las Vegas pass protection keeping Derek Carr clean and allowing him to have two big games against the Chiefs, who had one quarterback hit and zero sacks last weekend. Can the Bucs duplicate that effort? They’ve done a good job protecting Brady, who has been sacked 15 times. Much of that is the quick release ability of Brady, so perhaps Jones, Frank Clark and the line can bat down a couple of passes.
Chiefs wide receiver Sammy Watkins
This looks like the weekend Watkins will return, and just in time with Byron Pringle probably out with an ankle injury. The injury-prone Watkins has missed the previous four-plus games with a hamstring injury. As good as Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill have been the previous two games, with both over 100 receiving yards in each, Watkins is an important third target.
Buccaneers outside linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul
Neither side was happy with the play of their defense last weekend, especially the pass defense. In the Rams’ 27-24 victory on Monday, Jared Goff finished with 376 passing yards, the most against defensive coordinator Todd Bowles’ unit this season. Pierre-Paul finished with two passes defensed and an interception. The Bucs are second in the NFL with 19 takeaways.
Buccaneers tight end Rob Gronkowski
When he signed with Tampa Bay, Brady got roster influence and was provided with some of his favorite targets. That’s why Gronk came out of retirement. He has 31 receptions — 19 have gone for first downs — with four touchdowns this season. In six career games against the Chiefs, he’s recorded five touchdown receptions.
This story was originally published November 26, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "There’s a team the Chiefs haven’t defeated since Joe Montana was their quarterback."