Share
Mahomes and Kelce not on the same page early
Here’s something you don’t see often during a Chiefs game: Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce not looking in sync.
Kelce couldn’t make a catch on either of his first two targets from Mahomes. On the first target, Mahomes missed a wide-open Kelce. On the second, Mahomes underthrew his tight end on a wheel route.
ShareEarly issues for the Chiefs offensive line
The Chiefs’ offensive line hasn’t always been stout this season, allowing four sacks through the first two weeks.
On the team’s opening drive, rookie left tackle Josh Simmons was called for a holding penalty trying to block Brian Burns. Kansas City was still able to pick up a first down on the next play, but how Simmons fares on the edge tonight will be an important subplot in this game.
ShareOpening drive offers look at Giants’ Skattebo
The Giants sustained their first possession for 10 plays and nearly six minutes but couldn’t drive into either the red zone or field-goal range before failing to convert on fourth down. But what it did show was backup running back Cam Skattebo, the rookie from Arizona State whose physical running style helped him emerge out of nowhere last season while in college. He has two carries for 10 yards thus far. He entered today with 13 carries for 42 yards.
ShareChiefs make a fourth-down stop!
The Chiefs bent but didn’t break on the Giants’ opening possession.
New York ran the ball 7 times for 33 yards on its first drive, yet opted to throw on 4th-and-3 from the Kansas City 28. A Russell Wilson pass was batted down at the line of scrimmage, and now Patrick Mahomes will take over with the game tied at zero.
New York Giants running back Cam Skattebo struggles for yardage as Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton defends.Adam Hunger / APShareGiants will get the first possession
The Chiefs won the toss and elected to defer, which gives the Giants the opening drive to start this game. This is a game between desperate, 0-2 teams. Who comes out on top?
ShareSpags is back in New York
Now in his seventh season as the Chiefs’ defensive coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo is the longest-tenured defensive coordinator with their current team in the NFL. Spagnuolo has won four Super Bowls in his career (3 with KC, 1 with NYG), the most of any coordinator.
Spagnuolo spent five seasons over two stints with the Giants, serving as their defensive coordinator from 2007-2008 and 2015-2017. He finished the 2017 season as the Giants’ interim head coach following the firing of Ben McAdoo.
Spagnuolo was the Giants’ coordinator when they beat the previously undefeated New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII in the 2007 season.
ShareKelce in final year of contract
Travis Kelce, who turns 36 on October 5, is in the final season of his contract and potentially the final season of his career.
While Kelce led the Chiefs in both receptions (97) and receiving yards (823) last season, he did not catch a touchdown until Week 8 and finished the year with just three receiving TDs. It marked the third straight season that Kelce saw his receiving yards and receiving TD totals drop.
ShareMalik Nabers is the type of player the Chiefs are missing
Giants second-year receiver Malik Nabers has picked up where he left off from his stellar rookie campaign, collecting 14 receptions for 238 yards and two touchdowns through the team’s first two games.
Nabers is the type of gamebreaking wideout the Chiefs have lacked the last couple seasons. Through two weeks, all of Kansas City’s receivers (including backs and tight ends) have combined for two touchdowns.
The Chiefs’ top wide three receivers have 289 yards combined — only 51 more than Nabers himself.
Malik Nabers of the New York Giants warms up Sunday.Sarah Stier / Getty ImagesShareMahomes has always gone to AFC title game
The Chiefs have reached the AFC Championship game in all seven seasons with Patrick Mahomes as the starting QB (2018-2024). Since Mahomes, who turned 30 last week, took over as the starter, the Chiefs have an NFL-high 107 wins (including playoffs). That is 21 more wins than the 2nd-place Bills (86 wins).
Patrick Mahomes before tonight’s game.Elsa / Getty ImagesShareAndrew Thomas is back for the Giants
The Giants will officially have their left tackle back for Sunday night’s game against the Chiefs.
Andrew Thomas is active for the contest after he was listed as questionable for the contest. Thomas has not played since suffering a foot injury midway through last season.
ShareSack artists will be key
Both teams feature elite groups of pass rushers whose production could swing Sunday Night Football in either direction. Kansas City’s Chris Jones has yet to produce a sack in the first two weeks for the first time since 2018, and is coming off a 2024 season in which he recorded his fewest sacks in eight years, yet is still among the league’s best threats off the edge. And he remains a threat because teams must also respect the presence of his teammate, George Karlaftis, who has sacked Giants quarterback Russell Wilson six times in five career games.
The Giants are even deeper, with Brian Burns, Abdul Carter and Kayvon Thibodeaux combining for five sacks and six tackles for loss. And that doesn’t count lineman Dexter Lawrence, who had nine sacks in last season’s first seven games but hasn’t produced another ever since.
ShareAndy Reid on evolution of the quarterback position
Jason Garrett sits down with Andy Reid before the NFL season to discuss coaching quarterbacks and the evolution of the position while also diving into coaching philosophy on how to give players power in decision-making.
ShareRussell Wilson putting up big yards but no wins
The first-year Giants quarterback’s 618 passing yards led the NFL through Week 2, and the total — buoyed mostly by his 450 yards last week — is also the highest of the 36-year-old’s career through two weeks.
But can his arm still lead to wins? Going back to last season when Wilson was in Pittsburgh, he has lost seven consecutive games.
“I know what I’m capable of. I don’t need somebody to convince me of that,” Wilson said this week. “I don’t need outside praise or criticism to convince me of what I’m capable of.”
ShareGiants aiming to clean up worst penalty performance in decades
New York’s Week 2 loss at Dallas could be attributed to many factors, but one that was impossible to ignore was its lack of discipline. (For example, the six it drew on its opening possession alone.)
When all was said and done, the Giants had been called for 14 penalties, the most by the franchise in a single game since 1949.
ShareIt’s not only that the Chiefs haven’t won. They’ve barely led.
Through two games, the Carolina Panthers lead the NFL in an ignominious category — they have not led for a single second all season. That’s a poor start, not that one wasn’t unexpected for this Panthers team.
Yet Kansas City hasn’t been much better, leading for just 2 minutes, 44 seconds out of 120 minutes of football, the second-lowest amount of time leading.
ShareGiants gradually introducing backup QB Jaxson Dart
The Giants traded three draft picks to move up and use the 25th pick in April’s draft to select Dart, the quarterback from Mississippi. Dart did not play in Week 1 but was used in a specific package in Week 2, playing six total snaps. Giants coaches told him “red-zone-wise, just to be prepared,” Dart said after the Giants’ loss to Dallas. “Short-yardage stuff.”
ShareWhich Giants offense will show up?
In Week 1, the Giants were the only team in the NFL that failed to score a touchdown, scoring a league-low six points in their loss at Washington. They came to life in Week 2 at Dallas, scoring 37 points and putting up 506 yards of total offense.
ShareBoth teams desperate to avoid 0-3 start
Only six teams ever, and just one this century, have started 0-3 and made the playoffs. While the Giants didn’t begin the season with Super Bowl ambitions, the Chiefs certainly did. To keep their 10-year playoff streak — the second-longest in NFL history, behind only the Patriots, who appeared in 11 consecutive postseasons — alive, the Chiefs seemingly must win this weekend to avoid trying to make a desperate playoff push, something few 0-3 teams have ever pulled off.
Those six teams:
2018 Texans1998 Bills1995 Lions1992 Chargers1982 Buccaneers1981 Jets
To look just as the Chiefs’ own history, being 0-2 has routinely signaled trouble ahead. Of the 16 seasons where the Chiefs started 0-2, 15 resulted in the team missing the playoffs. The lone exception was in 2006.
ShareIt’s a make-or-break game for the Chiefs
Mike Florio and Nick Wright spell out why if the Chiefs lose Week 3, it’ll suggest they’re “just not that good” and that could change expectations from them this season.
ShareThis is new territory for KC. Not so much for the Giants.
An 0-2 start? The Giants have now done that 10 times in the past 13 seasons.
Yet this is the first time Kansas City has endured back-to-back losses to begin a season since 2014. KC hasn’t started 0-3 since 2011.
“Obviously, we’ve never been 0-2, but we’ve had times where we’ve dealt with challenges before,” Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said this week. “The guys that we have in this locker room will go back to work with that mindset of, ‘We’re going to continue to work even harder.’
“So that when we step on that field this next time, we can find a way to win in those big moments, like we haven’t in these first two weeks.”
ShareKansas City coach chasing coaching greats
Reid’s 301 career victories, including the postseason, ranks fourth all-time behind George Halas (324), Bill Belichick (333) and Don Shula (347). He could tie Shula and Belichick atop another coaching leaderboard this season if the Chiefs reach double-digit victories, which would be his 20th season with 10-plus wins, matching Shula and Belichick for most all-time.
ShareHampton, Williams lead Week 3’s anytime TD parlay
Fantasy Football Pregame unveils its TD scorer parlay on DraftKings Sportsbook for Week 3.
ShareGiants switching things up at RB
Kyle Dvorchak shares how Cam Skattebo’s arrival in the Giants offense hurts Tyrone Tracy’s fantasy value after taking a backseat to the rookie in Week 2.
ShareHave teams started 0-2 and still won a championship?
Take heart, Chiefs and Giants fans — it has happened before. Four times, in fact.
The 1934 Giants, 1993 Cowboys, 2001 Patriots and 2007 Giants all started a season at the bottom (of the standings) only to end it on top, with a championship.
ShareGiants pass rush could keep this game close
Rodney Harrison and Tony Dungy break down why the strong New York Giants’ pass rush paired with subpar Kansas City Chiefs receivers, could make this a closer “Sunday Night Football” game than expected.
ShareReid comfortable being ‘an open book’ for Chiefs
Chiefs coach Andy Reid sits down with Jason Garrett to discuss how he fosters a culture of honesty and hard work, as well as lessons he learned growing up that has impacted his mentorship for his players.
Share
NBC News chief news and sports data analyst Steve Kornacki joins “TODAY” to break down the upcoming Chiefs-Giants face-off on Sunday night.
ShareChiefs’ mastery of one-score games has ended
At times last season, Kansas City didn’t look like the best team in the AFC. But it made the Super Bowl by being the best team in the NFL in terms of winning close games. When this season began, the Chiefs had won 17 consecutive games where the final margin was a touchdown or less.
But that streak is over now, after Kansas City opened this season with two consecutive one-score losses. Two weeks into the season, the team has already matched its loss total from the entire 2024 regular season.
ShareChiefs offense will come alive
With the Chiefs facing a “must-win” game at 0-2, Mike Florio and Chris Simms believe Patrick Mahomes & Co. will right the ship against the Giants.