The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-2) fell short to the Kansas City Chiefs (3-1) 41-31 on Sunday night at Raymond James Stadium.
The Buccaneers fumbled the opening kickoff; the Chiefs took over 1st & 10 at the Bucs 21-yard line. The Chiefs capitalize on a 16-yard TD pass from Patrick Mahomes to Travis Kelce with 14:14 remaining in the opening quarter. The Bucs added three points of their own on the following possession, courtesy of Ryan Succop's 45-yard field goal with 10:12 remaining in the quarter. The Chiefs drive the ball 79-yards down the field, with Clyde Edwards-Helaire punching it in from 3-yards out to give Kansas City a 14-3 lead over Tampa Bay with 4:01 left in the 1st. Tampa Bay's offense struggled to get anything going on the ensuing offensive drive. The Chiefs held onto their 14-3 lead over the Buccaneers heading into the 2nd quarter.
Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense marched down the field, eventually scoring after Mahomes found Edwards-Helaire on a 1-yard TD pass, giving the Chiefs a 21-3 lead over the Bucs early in the 2nd quarter. Tom Brady and the Bucs answered back with a TD of their own as Tom Brady found Mike Evans for a 13-yard score; the Bucs trailed 21-10 with 8:50 left in the half. Late in the 2nd quarter, the Chiefs sacked Tom Brady and recovered a loose ball setting up the Chiefs offense 1st & 10 at Tampa Bay's 20-yard line. The Chiefs capitalized on good field position; Noah Gray scored on a 1-yard TD run to give the Chiefs a 28-10 lead with 2:11 left in the first half of play. The Bucs then took over on offense at their 25-yard line and marched their way down the field and were able to march their way down the field, setting up a 1-yard TD pass from Tom Brady to Mike Evans. At the end of the 1st half, the Chiefs led the Bucs 28-17.
The Kansas City Chiefs picked up where they left off, as Matthew Wright made a 44-yard field goal to give the Chiefs a 31-17 lead early in the 3rd quarter. The Chiefs offense wasn't done either; after forcing a three and out, the Chiefs offense added another touchdown to the scoreboard as Patrick Mahomes found Jody Fortson on a 10-yard TD pass to give the Chiefs a 38-17 lead late in the 3rd quarter. With just under a minute remaining in the 3rd, Bucs RB Rachaad White scored on a 1-yard TD run; the Bucs trailed the Chiefs 38-24 at the end of the 3rd quarter.
Kansas City's offense continued to move the ball down the field in the 4th quarter, eventually setting a 32-yard field goal from Matthew Wright, which extended Kansas City's lead, 41-24 over Tampa Bay with under 11-minutes remaining in regulation. The Bucs defense forced a turnover late in the ball game as Sean Murphy-Bunting picked off Patrick Mahomes with just under 5-minutes left in regulation. The turnover set the Bucs offense up 1st & 10 at Kansas City's 34-yard line. Tom Brady connected on a 5-yard pass TD to Leonard Fournette with 3:30 left in the game; that touchdown brought the Bucs within 10-points of the Chiefs, 41-31, which ended up being the final score of the game.
The Buccaneers now prepare to face Marcus Mariota and the Atlanta Falcons in Tampa on Sunday, October 9th. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 PM - you can hear the game on 97.9 WXTB-FM - The Mighty 98 Rock.
PHOTO COURTESY: GETTY IMAGES