Chiefs survive sloppy Sunday night battle vs. Giants to get first win of 2025 NFL season

Russell Wilson delivers a strike to Wan'Dale Robinson on fourth down to set up a last-gasp scoring opportunity for New York, only for he and Brian Daboll to follow it up with a ghastly red-zone appearance. First Wilson chucks the ball toward the stadium tunnel while feeling pressure, drawing an intentional grounding penalty and loss of down. Then Daboll draws up a quarterback draw, which goes nowhere. Then Wilson throws the ball out of the end zone on third-and-goal, then nearly does the same on fourth. A deflating way for the Giants offense to go out, and the crowd predictably responds with boos. Cue the calls for Jaxson Dart this week.

How about this guy? We highlighted the ex-Patriots prospect as an X factor for this matchup, and the speedster is showing up late: First, he nearly corrals a deep shot from Patrick Mahomes while going to the turf, then comes right back after the catch is reversed and outmaneuvers Andru Phillips for a leaping grab at the goal line, setting up a Kareem Hunt touchdown run. Thornton is quickly proving to be Mahomes' most trusted big-play outlet with Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice both sidelined. He leads the Chiefs with five catches for 71 yards and a score on nine targets.

Graham Gano fights through a groin injury to hit a 25-yard kick and make it a one-score ballgame in East Rutherford. But only after Brian Daboll dials up an option read for Russell Wilson on third down in the red zone. Not sure we'd be leaning on the legs of a 36-year-old Wilson at this juncture of the game, especially with the way Cam Skattebo has been trucking along as the lead back. Still, this isn't over just yet. Let's see if the Chiefs' second-half offense can regain a spark again.

Russell Wilson nearly lofts a third interception, forcing another deep shot to Malik Nabers, and this time, Nabers hurts himself while trying to come back and fight for the ball against Chiefs safety Bryan Cook. Both Nabers and Cook are slow to get up after the play, with Nabers grabbing at his chest and Cook motioning toward his helmet. We get that Wilson doesn't have too many tricks up his sleeve at this point, but the long balls are quickly going from a gutsy strength to a reckless act of desperation.

Maybe Andy Reid just needed halftime to fine-tune some things? Patrick Mahomes comes out dealing to open the second half, spreading the ball to four different players, including Tyquan Thornton to seal a touchdown drive and put K.C. up 16-6. Isiah Pacheco also gets in on the action with five carries, including a 10-yard burst, and suddenly the Chiefs might have an offense. That balance is probably underrated here, especially with how much physicality Pacheco can bring as the ball carrier.

The Chiefs might not be scoring touchdowns (or consistently moving chains, for that matter), but they've still got an undying acrobat in Patrick Mahomes, whose relentless scrambling at the end of the first half sets up a third Harrison Butker field goal. And it's 9-6 with the Chiefs in front. Talk about one sloppy half of football from both sides. Kansas City and New York both struggled to clear 100 yards in the first two quarters, with Russell Wilson playing chuck-and-pray to the tune of two picks and Mahomes dancing all over the field in search of someone -- anyone -- to get and stay open. One thing that might help both clubs: an actual commitment to the ground game, where rookie Cam Skattebo at least offered some tackle-shedding toughness for the G-Men.

Another Giants drive, another Wilson bomb right into the hands of the waiting Chiefs defender, this time Jaylen Watson. When New York has leaned on the rugged rushing of Cam Skattebo tonight, things have gone OK. Wilson, however, was trying to involve Malik Nabers on this deep shot ... except Nabers also showed little interest in outmuscling Watson for the underthrown ball. Welcome to one of the sloppiest combined offensive performances of the 2025 NFL season!

Exhibit A of the Chiefs' 2025 offensive ineptitude: Mahomes uncorks not one but two backwards throws, both of them potentially accidental as he tries to pump-fake and/or outsmart the Giants defense, and the second one is ruled a fumble. New York should've pounced upon it for an easy chance at a scoring drive, but instead K.C.'s wily quarterback recovers from his own error. Either way, this has been another messy night for Andy Reid's squad. Just 3.9 yards per play from the reigning AFC champions so far.

Malik Nabers is on the field, yes, but Steve Spagnuolo's defense is limiting the star wideout so far. In the meantime, rookie bruiser Cam Skattebo is making the bulk of the Giants' plays on offense, hauling in a flip from Russell Wilson and then using his physicality to push into the end zone and knot this one up (the extra point by punter Jamie Gillan, filling in for the injured Graham Gano, is blocked). He just keeps falling forward as the makeshift wear-you-down leader of Brian Daboll's attack.

We've seen Kelce and Reid go at it on the sidelines before, but this time, the Chiefs coach initiates the back-and-forth, seemingly irate over the star tight end's actions on the field. Kelce has just two catches for four yards in the lead-up to halftime.

Uh-oh. Patrick Mahomes is still working way too hard to get three points for the Chiefs. But it might not matter at MetLife Stadium, because Brian Daboll's "attack" is still nothing but scattershot. The latest evidence: Russell Wilson's deep shot on third-and-long, intended for Wan'Dale Robinson but blatantly short, making an easy pick for Christian Roland-Wallace. That's a gift right there, otherwise known as an arm punt. You can't expect to turn the ball over against K.C. and make it out OK, even with Andy Reid's offense in sputtery form. Mahomes is still wearing the G-Men down with his maneuvers.

New York's top ball carrier may or may not return thanks to a shoulder injury. That leaves rookie Cam Skattebo as the next-best option for the Giants' backfield. Skattebo has 10 yards on his first two carries against Kansas City.

"Strikes" is probably too strong a word, too, as Harrison Butker barely sneaks a 54-yard field goal through the uprights -- off them, actually. The real story with Kansas City's offense is Patrick Mahomes' disconnection with Travis Kelce. The Chiefs at least moved the rock a few times with Mahomes feeding JuJu Smith-Schuster over the middle, but two blatant misfires in Kelce's direction are a concern, considering the usual chemistry there. Is Mahomes pressing? Is Kelce slowing that badly? It might be a combo of both, because neither seems to be on the same page. Either way, it's 3-0 to start this ballgame.

Gano was infamously unavailable for New York for much of last year's Week 2 loss to the Washington Commanders after injuring his hamstring on a tackle attempt, forcing the Giants to go for it on fourth down more often than they would've liked. Now he's iffy for the entirety of Sunday's contest after hurting his groin in pregame warmups. That almost certainly explains coach Brian Daboll's decision to go for it on fourth-and-3 to start New York's night against the Chiefs.

New York keeps it on the ground to try to wear down Steve Spagnuolo's defense, logging seven rushes to three passes on the opening series. Both Tyrone Tracy and Cam Skatttebo show some fight to move the sticks, but then Russell Wilson has a short fourth-and-3 strike batted at the line. A wasted opportunity for New York to get on the board first. Part of the problem: Giants kicker Graham Gano is questionable after suffering a groin injury in pregame warmups. Something to watch as we go.

While speedsters like Xavier Worthy and Marquise Brown have taken turns nursing injuries in the Chiefs' pass-catching corps, Mahomes has quickly built at least some rapport with Thornton, the ex-New England Patriots prospect who originally came aboard via the practice squad last November. He ranks third behind only Brown and Travis Kelce in targets (9) and yards (100) as a legitimate field-stretcher, averaging a whopping 25 yards per reception. He should have additional opportunities to go deep against New York.

Not even double coverage is a guarantee to slow the Giants' No. 1 wideout, who all but singlehandedly kept New York in a shootout against the Cowboys in Week 2, finishing with nine catches for 167 yards and two scores. The Chiefs just got done keeping a tight lid on the Philadelphia Eagles' passing attack, but that's probably more a testament to the way the Birds play football, leaning heavily on the grind-it-out run game. Nabers alone has the electricity to test K.C.'s back end, and if Wilson remains on the money with his deep shots, look out.

Kansas City made it all the way to the Super Bowl at the close of last season, but it's been a long time since Andy Reid's offense actually looked like a juggernaut. That's partially because Patrick Mahomes' offensive line is still in a state of transition. He's also got basically no run support and an aging, injury-prone cast of pass catchers. All that said, he's shown some juice as a scrambler. And the Giants might be just the secondary he needs to see to get things moving down the field after they surrendered 40 points to Dallas.

The official inactive report for Kansas City, with the most notable absentee coming out wide:

• RB Elijah Mitchell

• WR Xavier Worthy
• TE Jared Wiley
• OL Hunter Nourzad
• DE Mike Danna
• CB Kristian Fulton

Thomas, the former first-round draft pick, is officially active for New York after missing the first two games of the season with a lingering Lisfranc injury. The left tackle also missed 11 games in 2024. His return could boost Russell Wilson's protection, paving the way for additional downfield shots to Malik Nabers, who exploded for 167 yards and two scores in Week 2.