KANSAS CITY, Mo. — If the Chiefs can snap a three-game home losing streak, they will have to do it with another strong partisan crowd invading Arrowhead Stadium.
They will also have to do it without MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs are keeping Mahomes out for a second-straight game after he dislocated his kneecap in Week 7 against the Denver Broncos. Matt Moore will start at quarterback with Chad Henne backing him up.
Chiefs Inactives
QB Patrick Mahomes, LT Eric Fisher, RG Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, DE Alex Okafor
DE Frank Clark, RB Darwin Thompson and CB Kendall Fuller
During pregame warmups the Chiefs ran with Martinas Rankin at left guard and Andrew Wylie filling in for Duvernay-Tardif at right guard. That makes sense given that Rankin has never played right guard in an NFL regular-season game. Wylie filled in on the right side for Duvernay-Tardif last year.
Clark and Okafor out means the Chiefs have just two defensive ends active in Emmanuel Ogbah and Tanoh Kpassagon. Chris Jones will play today, and expect to see him as an edge rusher when needed.
With Fuller out and Bashaud Breeland dealing with a shoulder injury, Morris Claiborne and Charvarius Ward ran as starting cornerbacks during warmups. Rashad Fenton will again start as the slot corner in place of Fuller.
Chiefs Challenge and Win
Andy Reid had a 2-3 record on challenges heading into this game, but he wins a challenge here to get the Chiefs off the field on third down. Officials gave a very generous spot to running back Ameer Abdullah on third down. Replays clearly showed Abdullah short of the line to gain, and the Vikings are forced to punt.
Chiefs 7, Vikings 0, 8:21 first quarter
Moore missed on deep connection to Tyreek Hill to the left side, then immediately took another shot to the right, hitting for a 40-yard touchdown strike. Fantastic catch by Hill, who caught the ball in his outstretched hands before stumbling into the end zone. Moore underthrew Hill on another deep ball last week, and said he during the week he was still adjusting to the team's blazing speed at receiver.
Chiefs 7, Vikings 7, 2:50 first quarter
The Chiefs bailed out Minnesota with a couple of penalties, including a holding penalty on Charvarius Ward guarding Stefon Diggs that converted a third down attempt. The Vikings marched 75 yards in 12 plays, with Cousins hitting wide receiver Bisi Johnson for a 4-yard touchdown pass. Cousins is just 4-of-9 for 48 yards so far, and the Chiefs have held Dalvin Cook to just 24 yards in eight carries. But the Vikings made plays when they needed on that drive, the defensive penalties proved costly.
Big Catch for Sammy Watkins
The Vikings brought a blitz on first down — running back Damien Williams stepped up in the middle to buy time for Moore. Moore finds Watkins deep, who hauls it in for 17 yards. Moore is 10-of-12 for 109 yards and a touchdown with 9:49 left in the first half.
Chiefs 10, Vikings 7, 4:34 second quarter
Andy Reid got aggressive on fourth-and-inches at the Minnesota 6-yard line, and while the Chiefs picked up the first down, they didn't get the touchdown. They settle for a 24-yard field goal from Harrison Butker to retake the lead.
But that was the ball-hogging, time consuming drive the Chiefs needed. That took 17 plays to cover 85 yards, and didn't even finish with a touchdown. That's the kind of drive Reid plans for in training camp when he forces his offense to run 19 straight plays in the August heat of St. Joseph.
Chiefs 10, Vikings 10, :06 second quarter
The Vikings tie the game before the half with a 1:30 second drive covering 57 yards in 12 plays before settling for a 29-yard field from Dan Bailey. Cousins finishes the first half 9-of-21 passing for 100 yards and a touchdown. The Chiefs have held the NFL's leading rusher Cook to just 36 yards in 10 carries.
HALFTIME: CHIEFS 10, VIKINGS 10
Keys to the Second Half for the Chiefs
Stop Dalvin Cook
Putting this game in the hands of Cousins is what the Chiefs must do to win this game. The return of Chris Jones has helped the Chiefs generate pressure in the pocket without as much blitzing, which has helped bottle up Cook in the backfield. Keep Cook from making plays on the ground and in the pass game stops the Vikings cold.
Jump Start the Run Game
The Chiefs have just 42 yards rushing on 12 carries, led by Damien Williams with 20 yards on six rushes. LeSean McCoy hasn't had much of a chance so far after another fumble last week, and the Chiefs are continuing to use their short-passing game as the ball-control offense. But the play action game will only work in the second half if the run game gets going.
Keep Feeding Kelce and Hill
The Chiefs' lone touchdown came on a big play to Hill, and the need it again. Kelce can keep moving the chains with quick throws, but it's up to Hill to hit the home run play for the Chiefs in the second half.
Vikings 16, Chiefs 10, 11:51 third quarter
The second half could not have started more poorly for the Chiefs with Mecole Hardman fumbling the kickoff and the Vikings capitalizing with a 38-yard touchdown drive. The Chiefs wasted a timeout on third-and-4 when the defense was out of alignment. After the timeout, a defensive breakdown led to Abdullah breaking wide open on the right side for a 16-yard touchdown.
Chiefs 17, Vikings 16, 6:13 third quarter
Damien Williams received new opportunities in the wake of McCoy's fumble last week, and he's proceeded to take advantage of them. Williams used some Shady-esque footwork to get past the Vikings defense on a 91-yard touchdown run, the longest of his NFL career. He has 119 yards on the day, which is a new regular-season career best. This is the Williams the Chiefs loved late season, and he's done everything he's needed the past two games to regain his status as a co-starter in the backfield.
Chiefs 20, Vikings 16, :30 third quarter
The Chiefs extended their lead on a 45-yard field goal from Butker. Hill helped setup the score with a 30-yard catch on a deep ball from Moore. Hill had to wait for the ball, otherwise it would have likely been a touchdown.
Vikings 23, Chiefs 20, 10:59 fourth quarter
The Chiefs have been an undisciplined mess on third down today, and it bit them again on a 3-yard scoring toss from Cousins to tight end Kyle Rudolph. The Chiefs only had 10 players on the field for the play, and none appeared set or ready when the Vikings snapped the ball. The Chiefs could have been called for having too many men on the field had several player not run off the field before the snap. Could already burned one timeout on defense this half, and should have burned another there. Completely unprepared on that play.
FINAL: CHIEFS 26, VIKINGS 23
Butker hits the game winner from 44 yards out as time expires, and the Chiefs move to 6-3 while breaking a three-game home losing streak.
