Report card from a big win: Chiefs get high marks in blowout victory over Bengals
The recap
Player of the game: Patrick Mahomes threw four touchdown passes and extended his franchise-record for consecutive 300-yard passing games to six.
Reason to hope: The Chiefs defense had its second good performance in the past three games, and they did it without outside linebacker Justin Houston.
Reason to mope: You stayed up late and had trouble getting up on Monday morning?
Looking ahead: The Chiefs host the division rival Denver Broncos at Arrowhead Stadium next Sunday. The Broncos will be the first opponent the Chiefs play for a second time this season.
Report card
Rushing offense: B. Kareem Hunt ran with aggression and energy on his way to 86 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. The Chiefs averaged 6.8 yards per rush, and Hunt delivered punishment to tacklers throughout the night. Despite two new starters on the offensive line, the Chiefs controlled the line of scrimmage.
Passing offense: A. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw three first-half touchdown passes and 234 yards to pace the Chiefs to a 24-7 halftime edge. He approached 300 yards passing (298) by the end of the first drive of the second half.
Rushing defense: B+. The Chiefs held the Bengals to minimal gains on the ground. They finished the night with an average of 3.4 per carry and primary ball carrier Joe Mixon rushed for 50 yards. He didn’t have a run longer than 6 yards in the first half.
Passing defense: A-. Andy Dalton picked up a large amount of his yardage after the Chiefs took a 38-7 lead early in the third quarter. He finished with 148 yards, but had just 118 at halftime with 110 of those coming on throws to A.J. Green. The secondary was guilty of multiple pass interference penalties to help sustain drives. They got to Dalton for two sacks. Ron Parker gave the defense it’s second interception return for a touchdown in the past three weeks.
Special teams: B-. The Bengals entered the night ranked third in the NFL in kick return average (30.2 per return) and the Chiefs held them to almost 10 yards below their average. A penalty on a return and a missed field goal try kept it from being a better night for the special teams units.
Coaching: A. The Chiefs’ offense hit the Bengals multiple ways and with multiple weapons. They surpassed 500 yards of total offense, and they put together long touchdown drives of 95, 82 and 75 yards. They protected Mahomes and kept the Bengals from getting a bead on what they were doing. Defensively, they stifled the Bengals offense to the point that they compiled just 237 yards of total offense.
Lynn Worthy
Lynn Worthy covers the Kansas City Chiefs and NFL for The Star.
This story was originally published October 21, 2018 at 11:06 PM.