Arrowhead Pride
The closing moment of the Kansas City Chiefs’ 23-20 overtime win over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday afternoon was unfamiliar territory for this year’s Chiefs, because placekicker Harrison Butker’s field goal secured the season’s first one-score victory. Before then, Kansas City was 0-5 in such games.
It was also quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ first fourth-quarter comeback of 2025 after he led the NFL in that category (5) in 2024. He entered regulation’s final period 20-9, treading water against a strong defensive game plan from Indianapolis defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo.
After that, Mahomes completed 11 of 17 passes for 158 yards while captaining three scoring drives. He added two impactful scrambles and a two-point conversion in which he rifled a pass between defenders into the end zone.
In his postgame press conference, head coach Andy Reid acknowledged the offense’s strong finish — and praised both Mahomes and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy.
“Listen, he kept firing, which the great ones do,” Reid said of Mahomes. “[Nagy] dialed up some stuff that was right in his wheelhouse, and he did a great job with all of that. [Pass Game Coordinator] Joe Bleymaier — and I mean all of the guys — contributed on it, but the coordinator was on fire today. He did a good job.”
Kansas City controlled the flow of this game on both sides of the ball, but the offense deserves credit for sustaining six scoring possessions for 10 or more plays. The Chiefs ended the game with 42:35 of possession compared to the Colts’ 25:28. Running back Kareem Hunt set a career high with 30 rushing attempts, churning out 104 yards.
The team committed to its ground attack, which was made possible by a strong performance by the offensive line. Position coach Andy Heck had his group prepared to carry the load.
“I thought the line was controlling things there pretty good,” Reid pointed out, “which was important. We were getting positive yards on first down, which was good. We ran a little bit on second down, likewise. Coach Heck puts all of that together — I mean, that’s his deal. He did a great job schematically with it. They were dialed up and the guys executed them.”
As the slugfest wore on, this reliance on the running game helped open up the passing game.
“Whenever you’re able to run the football like that,” Mahomes explained to reporters, “it makes defenses come up — and then you can hit some of these deeper throws down the field like we did at the end there.”
Eventually, this helped wide receiver Rashee Rice find space downfield. He registered a career-high 141 receiving yards — with 132 of them spread over five receptions late in the game.
“He’s able to catch the ball and make yards after catch,” Mahomes said of Rice. “A lot of these play-calls that he caught weren’t necessarily the first read. We called shots down the field. [The Colts] wanted to take away shots down the field. You can...
