Chiefs first-half analysis: Monster start for Patrick Mahomes and Tyreek Hill in Tampa
.JPG "Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill beats Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. on a 75-yard touchdown reception during the first half of Sunday’s game.")
Great start for the Chiefs. But they missed an opportunity to blow open Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Bucs.
Still it’s a 20-7 halftime lead with Patrick Mahomes and Tyreek Hill having monster games already.
The advantage was 17 points and the Chiefs were in the red zone before the Bucs’ pressure got to Mahomes, who lost a fumble. Tampa Bay turned the twist of fortune into a touchdown drive.
The Bucs will get the ball to start the second half. Here are the first-half highlights.
Short field goal, long TD passes
The Chiefs scored first in a game for the first time since their Week 8 victory over the Jets. But Andy Reid played it conservative and had Harrison Butker boot a 19-yard field goal instead of keeping the offense on the field for a fourth-and-1.
The opportunity was lost on third down. A double reverse — Mahomes went in motion, reserved his field and took the snap. He pitched to Hill, who pitched to Travis Kelce. Mahomes had worked his way to the end zone and was in position for a TD reception.
Kelce had the option to keep it or pass and attempted the latter. Bucs cornerback Carlton Davis got his hand on the ball and batted it away. Kelce was denied a career-first touchdown pass, Mahomes a career first reception.
Perhaps as punishment for not executing, Reid sent on the field-goal unit.
The Chiefs didn’t play it fancy for their first touchdown, with Mahomes going over the top to Hill for 75 yards. Davis gave Hill a 10-yard cushion at the line, but it didn’t matter. Hill streaked by, ran under the bomb and finished off the Chiefs’ longest play from scrimmage this year.
Their previous long: Mahomes to Hill for a 54-yard touchdown against the L.A. Chargers.
The second touchdown had a similar construction, with single coverage on Hill. Mahomes saw it and dropped in a 44-yard touchdown pass. The play gave Mahomes 229 passing yards and Hill 203 receiving yards in the first quarter.
Keep an eye on these numbers: The Chiefs’ record for receiving yards in a game is 309 by Stephone Paige against the Chargers in 1985. Hill’s career best is 215 yards against the Rams in 2018. He had 210 receiving yards in the first half alone.
But it wasn’t a perfect first half. The Chiefs lost a fumble in the red zone when Mahomes was sacked and had the ball stripped by Shaq Barrett. The Bucs beat the Chiefs to the ball on the recovery and the Chiefs had their first red zone giveaway in 17 games.
Before the fumble, the Bucs’ defense was getting pressure on him. He went down several times after the pass attempt.
Mahomes finished the half with 359 passing yards.
Defensive improvement
A week ago, the Chiefs got torched by the Raiders’ offense. In the game before that, the Panthers moved the ball easily against KC. Each team scored 31 points.
On Sunday, the Chiefs defense came up with stops on the Bucs’ first four possessions, including three straight three-and-outs.
But Brady and the Bucs responded after the Mahomes fumble. Their 86-yard drive ended with Ronald Jones’ 37-yard touchdown reception when he tight-roped down the sideline and somehow didn’t go out of bounds when safety Dan Sorensen tumbled into him.
This story was originally published November 29, 2020 at 4:55 PM with the headline "Chiefs first-half analysis: Monster start for Patrick Mahomes and Tyreek Hill in Tampa."