Four Takeaways from the Kansas City Chiefs' 30-24 Win Over the TB Buccaneers

The Kansas City Chiefs hosted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 9, and there was plenty to take away from the Monday night contest.

Nov 4, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) throws a pass against Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka (9) at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images / Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

It wouldn't be a Kansas City Chiefs game without some drama along the way, right?

The reigning Super Bowl champions were back in front of their home crowd for the first time in quite a while, hosting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 9. On the Monday Night Football stage, the road team actually held a lead entering the fourth quarter. Thanks to a late surge and a scoring drive in overtime, though, Kansas City emerged with a thrilling 30-24 victory. The Chiefs are 8-0, maintaining their lead on their foes in the process.

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

Patrick Mahomes and DeAndre Hopkins came out firing

Last week, DeAndre Hopkins made his Chiefs debut and made an impact that went beyond the box score. The veteran wideout easily could've had more than double his yardage total and added a touchdown, which was a testament to the quality of his performance. The same could've been said for Mahomes, who had a solid 96.6 passer rating but played better than that. Both players carried their great levels of play into Week 9, and the numbers were there to prove it early on.

Mahomes was tremendous in the first half, completing 18 of his 22 passes for 166 yards and a touchdown. That score went to Hopkins, who made multiple chunk receptions and posted the highlight of his season with a 35-yard haul near the end zone. He capped off that drive with the aforementioned touchdown, completing his first two frames with six receptions for 66 yards. Kansas City's new quarterback-wideout duo looked dangerous on Monday, setting the tone early on. A fourth-quarter connection only solidified things even more.

Xavier Worthy did not, raising more questions

Earlier this week, Chiefs pass game coordinator Joe Bleymaier acknowledged that he believes rookie Xavier Worthy could make a first-year leap similar to what Rashee Rice did a year ago. While envisioning those volume numbers seemed difficult to many (including this writer), there was no denying that Worthy has considerable room to grow. The more rookies play, the more they tend to learn. The great ones then adjust on the fly and fine-tune their games throughout the season. Simple concept, right? Not necessarily, as Worthy showed in the first half of Monday's game that development isn't always linear.

On Kansas City's opening offensive possession, Worthy had a 31-yard gain (or a would-be touchdown) that was wiped away because he couldn't get his feet down in bounds. On the second drive, he killed momentum with a run for a loss of 10 yards. One series later, he caught a swing pass seemingly full steam ahead and got dropped by Lavonte David for no gain. The No. 28 overall pick in April's NFL Draft struggled to start Week 9, continuing a trend of inconsistent play.

Kansas City's defense cracked a bit for the first time this season, yet it didn't matter

In this week's Chiefs-Buccaneers preview here at Kansas City Chiefs On SI, much was made of the visitors not having Mike Evans and Chris Godwin at their disposal on offense. Things became even scarier when rookie Jalen McMillan was made inactive 90 minutes before kickoff. It was highlighted that tight end Cade Otton could be a mismatch for Steve Spagnuolo's defense, which was precisely the case as he led the team in receptions and yards while also scoring a touchdown. One of the league's top run defenses also surrendered five yards per carry deep into the game.

Following Tampa Bay drives resulting in a touchdown and a field goal, Kansas City buckled down and forced a three-and-out with the game tied at 17 all. After Hopkins scored another time, the defense got a second-down sack and, ultimately, another stop on third down. Given a chance to drive down the field with over two minutes left, however, the Buccaneers had a drive brewing and ultimately capitalized. The Chiefs' defense sure seems to enjoy living on the edge at times but has still earned the benefit of the doubt many times over for the future.

While it still isn't the prettiest, it doesn't need to be

Dating back to last season, the Chiefs have constructed a new image as a team. Gone are the days of consistently hitting throws deep down the field, putting up insane numbers on offense and hoping a leaky defense can simply stay out of the way enough. For the better part of a calendar year, Andy Reid's team has become a defense-heavy, opportunistic, timely club that flexes its winning DNA in the faces of opponents every week.

The process versus result argument is an interesting one, especially in the modern NFL. Far too often, extremely talented teams will get hot for a while but ultimately flame out and see their flaws get exposed. Last season's Chiefs team appeared destined for that, yet they flipped a switch and won a Super Bowl anyway. Knowing how to make winning plays and when to make them might not be able to be quantified. It's been the backbone of this current dynasty, though, and Monday served as another example. Style points don't register on the scoreboard in Kansas City.

Read More: Chiefs 'Seeing Improvement' from Kingsley Suamataia Despite Wanya Morris Starting