How one ‘A’ was enough to carry the day for Chiefs against NY Giants: report card
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Chiefs defeated Giants 22-9, securing their first win of the 2025 season.
- Defense led by Jaylen Watson contained NFL’s top passing offense with 2 picks.
- Patrick Mahomes connected twice with Tyquan Thornton in a second-half rebound.
The Chiefs won a game at the New York Giants for the first time, beating their hosts 22-9 on “Sunday Night Football” from MetLife Stadium.
A superb effort helped the Chiefs (1-2) record their first victory of the season in the NFL’s Week 3.
KC STAR OF THE GAME
The Giants entered the game with the NFL’s top passing offense and the Chiefs shut them down. Cornerback Jaylen Watson recorded one of the team’s two interceptions and was credited with two passes defended.
As the Chiefs continue to resolve problems on offense, Steve Spagnuolo’s defense seems prepared to carry the load.
Next: The Chiefs return to GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium to meet the Baltimore Ravens. The game will kick off at 3:25 p.m., televised by CBS (Channel 5 in Kansas City).
Passing offense: B
Patrick Mahomes’ 5-yard touchdown pass to Tyquan Thornton was a laser and capped a 74-yard drive to open the second half. And his 33-yard strike to Thornton — one play after Thornton couldn’t hang on to a touchdown reception — was the Chiefs’ most dynamic play of the night.
But what a struggle in the first half. The Chiefs looked to get the ball out quickly against a fierce Giants pass rush, but receivers weren’t getting separation. Twice in the first half, Mahomes threw wayward backward passes (laterals) to Isiah Pacheco as a safety valve, and Mahomes had to recover one of the loose balls by himself in an amazing heads-up play.
A 52-yard pass-interference penalty was the Chiefs’ biggest play of the night and led to a field goal late in the first half.
Rushing offense: C
Early on, the Chiefs didn’t think they could get push against the physical Giants. Mahomes attempted 23 passes in the first half as the Chiefs didn’t try to establish anything on the ground.
When the Chiefs offered a nice mix of pass and run, they motored to their first touchdown drive to open the second half.
For the first time this season, Mahomes wasn’t the Chiefs’ rushing leader in a game. Pacheco finished with 45 yards and the Chiefs looked to get speedy rookie Brashard Smith more involved, too.
Good to see the Chiefs’ power in a short-yardage touchdown on the ground. Kareem Hunt put the game out of reach with his fourth quarter 1-yard run.
Passing defense: A
Amazing job by the Chiefs. Against Russell Wilson, who put up 450 yards in an overtime loss at Dallas last weekend, the Chiefs held him to 160 yards. Wide receiver and top weapon Malik Nabers was held to two receptions.
The first KC takeaways of the season came courtesy of cornerbacks Chris Roland-Wallace, on his second defensive snap of the season, and Watson. The Chiefs excelled against the Giants’ passing game. The Chiefs got a total of three points from the two interceptions.
Chris Jones notched his first sack, and George Karlaftis added a sack as the rush and two-deep safeties kept Wilson off-balance all night.
Rushing defense: C
Cam Skataboo is a handful, and he forced five missed tackles in the first half, and his chip block on Charles Omenihu knocked the Chiefs defensive end from the game. The rookie from Arizona State finished with 60 yards rushing and 61 receiving.
Special teams: C
Harrison Butker’s woes continue. He had a miss in a third straight game, this time a 40-yard field-goal attempt in the second quarter that he pushed left. He got fortunate on his 54-yard attempt in the first quarter that doinked in off the left upright.
Hunt did Butker no favors when the throat-slash gesture after his touchdown run in the fourth quarter drew an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty. That pushed Butker’s extra point back to the 48, and he pulled it.
This story was originally published September 21, 2025 at 10:46 PM with the headline "How one ‘A’ was enough to carry the day for Chiefs against NY Giants: report card."