Four Takeaways from the Kansas City Chiefs' 22-17 Win Over the Atlanta Falcons

The Kansas City Chiefs hit the road to face the Atlanta Falcons in Week 3 of NFL action, and there was plenty to take away from the Sunday night contest.

Sep 22, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) passes the ball against the Atlanta Falcons during the first half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The Kansas City Chiefs squared off against an NFC opponent for the first time this season, and Sunday Night Football sure didn't disappoint.

Week 3's game in Atlanta versus the Falcons saw a little bit of everything. Despite a slow start from the offense and some solid scoring drives by the opposition, Andy Reid's team was able to buckle down in time to secure a win. It's a 22-17 victory for Kansas City, which gets the back-to-back champs up to 3-0 to kick off the season.

With that in mind, here are four takeaways from Sunday's game.

Missed opportunities and poor execution plagued Patrick Mahomes to open the game

Patrick Mahomes struggled in Week 2's win over the Cincinnati Bengals, and some of that carried over into Sunday's contest. On the club's opening drive, he underthrew a pass to Rashee Rice and later missed Xavier Worthy for a touchdown. The two-time MVP seemed hesitant to put some extra zip on a few throws, and the deep-ball effort to Worthy didn't lead him nearly enough.

Later in the same possession, Mahomes lobbed a pass to Noah Gray that resulted in an ugly interception. It's possible that a missed pickup forced him to get rid of the ball just a bit sooner than he would've liked, yet the decision was a poor one nonetheless. A touchdown made things fine on possession No. 2, but it was a rough start for the NFL's best player.

Rashee Rice is undeniably the Chiefs' top option on offense right now

For a good chunk of last season, the Chiefs seemed to run their offense through then-rookie Rashee Rice more than Travis Kelce. Rice outproduced Kelce in a handful of games leading up to the postseason, then the future Hall of Fame tight end resembled himself in January and February. The priority targets have been Rice's to start this season and while Kansas City did a bit better job getting Kelce involved on Sunday, the former second-round pick dominated again.

Of Mahomes's 39 pass attempts, 14 were intended for Rice. Rice finished with 12 receptions for 110 yards and a touchdown, finding soft spots in the Falcons' defense routinely. His patented contact balance and post-catch ability were also put on display. With Xavier Worthy still earning a full workload, Marquise "Hollywood" Brown on injured reserve and Kelce not rolling (yet?), Rice is the current top dog in Kansas City.

So far, so good without Isiah Pacheco?

When running back Isiah Pacheco suffered a broken fibula late in last week's game, many wondered what the Chiefs' answer would be at the position. It isn't easy to replace a leading rusher who goes on IR, and the acquisition of Kareem Hunt to the practice squad can only do so much. A lot of pressure was put on players like Carson Steele and Samaje Perine to step up. It's only one game in the aftermath of Pacheco's injury, although they did a bang-up job.

As expected, Steele got the bulk of the carries with 17. He posted 72 yards on those totes, also factoring into the pass protection and short-yardage plans. Perine got far less work overall but had nine total touches for 40 all-purpose yards. Considering that, as well as carries from Worthy, Rice and Mahomes, Kansas City replaced Pacheco's production well. That's a winning formula.

Steve Spagnuolo's defense did its job and then some

Kansas City was far from perfect on defense. In the first half, specifically, Trent McDuffie slipping led to a big play for Darnell Mooney and a miscommunication between Drue Tranquill and Nazeeh Johnson afforded an easy score. On Atlanta's third possession, Chris Jones got called for roughing the passer and Justin Reid was burned by Kyle Pitts for a 50-yard chunk play. That drive also resulted in a touchdown. Here's how things went after that for the Falcons, though:

• Punt
• Interception
• HALF
• Punt
• Field goal
• Turnover on downs
• Turnover on downs

Spagnuolo's group buckled down in half No. 2, surrendering just three points to a talented offense. It felt like a cliche "bend, but don't break" kind of half, but that works if the defense does its job in the end. It certainly did on the biggest stage of the week thus far, holding the Falcons to 4.8 yards per play in the second half and helping bring home the victory. Not even a few final-drive penalties could stop one of football's best units from sealing the deal in the end.

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