Biggest Winners and Losers From Chiefs' Week 2 Overtime Thriller Against the Indianapolis Colts

The Kansas City Chiefs escaped the Indianapolis Colts with a 2-0 record Sunday night, but it was anything but easy, especially compared to Week 1. The game featured seven lead changes, an offense that rediscovered its passing attack, a defense that bent without breaking completely, and a Harrison Butker 40-yard field goal with one second remaining in overtime to seal the win.

It was the kind of game that tests a team's character early in the season, and Kansas City passed.

The passing game that went quiet against Denver roared back to life, with Patrick Mahomes putting together one of the more complete performances he has had in years. The run game never went away either, with Kenneth Walker once again doing the heavy lifting and coming up with the biggest plays when the game was on the line.

The defense had moments of vulnerability, particularly in coverage, but forced the stop that mattered most: a punt from the Colts with under three minutes to go in regulation and a field goal in overtime.

It was not perfect, but 2-0 rarely is this early in the season. Here is a full breakdown of the biggest winners and losers from Sunday night.

Winners

Patrick Mahomes, Quarterback

After a solid but slightly rusty Week 1 performance, quarterback Patrick Mahomes returned to form in a big way Sunday night. The flow of the game called for it, and he delivered, going 32-for-47 for 382 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions while averaging 8.1 yards per attempt.

The Colts pressured him 14 times, but Mahomes looked comfortable in the pocket and created when he needed to, even with tight end Travis Kelce and wide receiver Xavier Worthy combining for four drops, two of which would have been 20-plus-yard gains.

It was the first time since his last MVP season in 2022 that he posted 350-plus yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions in the same game. After the wide receivers combined for just 37 yards against the Broncos, both Tyquan Thornton and Rashee Rice topped 80 yards Sunday night, and Mahomes had four receivers over 60 yards, including Kelce and Kenneth Walker.

This was the first real glimpse of what this offense can look like with a dominant rushing attack complementing a healthy Mahomes throwing the football.

Kenneth Walker, Running Back

Just because the passing game came alive does not mean the run game took a back seat. Kenneth Walker took 24 carries for 117 yards against the Colts while also hauling in six passes for 61 yards, making him the second-most targeted player on the team. Through two weeks, the prized offseason addition now leads the NFL in rushing by a wide margin and has accumulated 56 touches for 369 yards of total offense.

The most important contribution did not show up in the box score. To set up Butker's game-winning overtime field goal, Walker accounted for 42 of the team's 46 yards on the final drive.

He also forced nine missed tackles according to PFF, following up on 14 a week ago against Denver. Walker is making a very early case as the most impactful offseason addition in the NFL.

Travis Kelce, Tight End

Travis Kelce made history Sunday night, becoming the NFL's all-time yards-after-the-catch leader with 6,288 career YAC yards, surpassing running back Marshall Faulk. He generated 65 YAC yards in this game alone and now leads the entire league through two weeks with 128. At 36 years old and in his 14th season, he is turning back the clock.

His longest reception was just 18 yards, but he moved the chains seven times, led the team with 11 targets, and finished with nine catches for 101 yards and a touchdown. The future Hall of Famer proved once again that the passing game still runs through him.

He is the most reliable weapon Mahomes has, and Sunday night was another reminder of why.

Losers

The pass rush

The Colts came in with a clear game plan. They passed 31 times and ran 32, stayed on schedule, and got the ball out of Daniel Jones' hands quickly. It worked well enough to neutralize what had been a ferocious pass rush a week earlier.

After generating 25 pressures and four sacks against the Broncos, the Chiefs managed just eight pressures and zero sacks on Sunday. Jones went 22-for-31 for 210 yards, a touchdown, and an interception, and Jonathan Taylor carried 24 times for 92 yards and two scores.

George Karlaftis and Felix Anudike-Uzomah were the only Chiefs defenders to generate multiple pressures. Anudike-Uzomah's was particularly timely, ultimately forcing the punt that sent the game to overtime.

The Baltimore Ravens managed just one sack on 10 pressures against Indianapolis last week, so some of this is credit to a solid Colts offensive line. But after the statement Week 1 put together, the team and the fan base would have liked to see more. This is one to monitor against the Miami Dolphins next week.

Xavier Worthy, Wide Receiver

Five catches, 25 yards, and a touchdown do not look like a bad day on paper, but context matters. A 16-yard catch and 20 yards after the catch suggest most of Worthy's production came in short areas of the field.

The more damaging detail is the two drops, one on a first-and-10 at the Colts' 32 when Mahomes hit him deep near the end zone. The drive settled for a field goal instead of a touchdown, a swing that could have put the game away in regulation. A catch by Worthy there could have done him wonders and could have set the team up to take an 11-point lead.

At some point, Worthy has to prove to Mahomes and the coaching staff that he can be trusted to win downfield and not just in the underneath game. Thornton and Rice both had explosive performances, and second-year receiver Jalen Royals caught two passes, including a touchdown. The competition for targets in this receiver room is real, and Worthy's hold on a featured role is not as secure as his draft pedigree might suggest.

L'Jarius Sneed, Cornerback

Sneed was exceptional in Week 1, holding Jaylen Waddle to one catch for two yards. Week 2 was a completely different story. Against Josh Downs and the Colts' slot-heavy attack, Sneed was targeted 13 times, allowed 10 catches for 126 yards, and graded out as the worst player in coverage according to PFF. Downs did the majority of the damage, catching five passes for 53 yards against him, and a big play from Laquon Treadwell in overtime added to the rough night.

Spagnuolo is a Sneed truther, and nothing is likely to change in the lineup in the short term. But after a strong debut in Week 1, this is one to watch as Sneed moves deeper into his seventh NFL season with significant mileage on those knees. The sample size is still small, but the Week 2 tape is the kind that opposing coordinators will study.

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