Live updates: Patrick Mahomes throws TD pass and lets Cardinals know about it
The Chiefs rolled to a 44-21 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday in Glendale, Arizona.
At one point, the Chiefs held a 30-point lead and they finished the game with 488 yards compared with 282 yards for the Cardinals.
Running away with it
The Chiefs offense was firing on all cylinders Sunday in the desert.
Not only had Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes thrown five touchdown passes midway through the fourth quarter, but Kansas City also rushed for 110 yards against the Arizona Cardinals.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire had 42 rushing yards in seven attempts and he caught two touchdown passes. Rookie running back Isiah Pacheco also had 42 yards on the ground (on eight attempts), and his 3-yard touchdown run gave the Chiefs a 44-15 lead in the final quarter.
After that run the Cardinals scored a touchdown to make it a 44-21 game.
That’s 4, no 5 for Mahomes
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes got all the fuel he needed this summer to feed his competitive fire as multiple NFL pundits questioned how he’d do without wide receiver Tyreek Hill.
Mahomes looked just fine in Sunday’s season opener against the Arizona Cardinals. After throwing his fourth touchdown pass of the game — a 1-yard toss to tight end Jody Fortson in the third quarter — Mahomes looked at a Cardinals player and signaled four.
Hill was traded to the Dolphins in the offseason, but Mahomes looked like, well, Mahomes with the quartet of touchdown passes in the first three quarters.
After the Kansas City defense forced the Cardinals to punt, Mahomes threw a fifth TD pass, this one to Mecole Hardman, as the Chiefs jumped to a 37-7 lead.
Oh, and Mahomes did it with an injured left wrist.
Chiefs start fast
The Chiefs’ first-team offense picked up Sunday where it left off in the preseason.
Arizona kicked off to open the game, and the Chiefs drove 75 yards in 11 plays for a touchdown. Mahomes threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to tight end Travis Kelce for the score.
The Chiefs opened the game in somewhat surprising fashion: four straight rushing plays.
Running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire picked up 34 yards on the ground on the drive, and Kelce caught two passes for 19 yards. That includes this touchdown reception:
The downside? CBS Sports’ Tracy Wolfson reported Mahomes injured his left wrist on the touchdown pass. And it was “heavily” taped up. Wolfson said later that the Chiefs plan to do an X-ray on the wrist after the game.
The good news: Mahomes stayed in the game and threw touchdown passes .of 3 yards and 4 yards to Edwards-Helaire as the Chiefs took a 23-7 lead at halftime.
Butker leaves on a cart
On the kickoff following the first touchdown, Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker slipped and injured his left ankle.
Butker left on a cart and safety Justin Reid took over kicking duties. Reid made an extra point following the Chiefs’ second touchdown (a 3-yard pass from Mahomes to Edwards-Helaire) and then kicked off.
Wolfson reported Butker’s left ankle was swollen., but Reid looked good as the Chiefs took a 14-0 lead after one quarter.
Reid missed an extra-point attempt after the third touchdown. On the Chiefs’ final drive of the first half, Butker returned and made a 54-yard field-goal attempt.
Who’s the referee?
No matter the outcome of the Chiefs’ season opener Sunday against Arizona, it would be best if the officials don’t become part of the game story.
The referee assigned to the Chiefs-Cardinals game is Scott Novak, according to the website Football Zebras.
Novak is entering his fourth season as an NFL referee and his ninth as an official. He did not work a Chiefs game during the 2021 season, and the last time Kansas City fans saw him was Dec. 20, 2020. In that game, the Chiefs beat the Saints 32-29 in New Orleans.
That is the only time he’s been a referee for a Chiefs game, according to Pro Football Reference.
The uniform choices
Here is how each team will look in Sunday’s game in Glendale, Arizona.
This story was originally published September 11, 2022 at 2:50 PM.
