Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes walked off the Arrowhead field talking more about survival than style points. After rallying from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to stun the Indianapolis Colts 23-20 in overtime, the quarterback called it exactly the kind of game the Kansas City Chiefs needed, praising how all three phases “found a way to win” and insisting this comeback has to be the springboard for the rest of the season.
Inside the locker room, most of the noise pointed in one direction: Steve Spagnuolo’s defense. Wide receiver Rashee Rice told Charles Goldman on X that “those guys were going crazy today,” saying the way they played kept injecting energy into the offense.
Head coach Andy Reid echoed that sentiment, crediting his coordinator by saying Spagnuolo “had a great plan defensively against one of the best offenses in the National Football League.”
That plan produced exactly the kind of response Kansas City has been missing in close games all year. The Chiefs held Indianapolis to 255 total yards, clamped down for four straight three-and-outs to close the game, and completely suffocated the Colts’ passing attack late, allowing only 17 passing yards in the fourth quarter and overtime. League rushing leader Jonathan Taylor was limited to 58 yards on 16 carries and never reached the end zone.
For a team that had opened 0-5 in one-score games after going 12-0 in those situations last season, seeing the defense slam the door instead of cracking under pressure felt like a reset. The win nudged Kansas City back above .500 at 6-5 and kept its postseason streak very much alive.
Inside that resurgence, Chris Jones is still raising the standard. After the game, the star defensive tackle told reporters he has to “show up the rest of these games,” calling himself his own biggest critic and stressing that the energy he brings is meant to ignite both the crowd and his teammates.
If Spagnuolo continues dialing up game plans that bottle up elite offenses and leaders like Jones keep demanding more from themselves, Sunday’s overtime escape might be remembered as the night the Chiefs’ defense dragged this season back on track.
