The Kansas City Chiefs became the NFL‘s only undefeated team after dominating their Super Bowl rematch with the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
While it proved another day to forget for Travis Kelce – as he once again flattered to deceive without Taylor Swift cheering him on – Kareem Hunt rushed for two first half touchdowns to help the Chiefs cruise to a 28-18 victory in San Francisco.
Patrick Mahomes completed 16 of 27 passes for 154 yards with two interceptions for Kansas City, but the legendary quarterback came up clutch after ripping off a career-high 33-yard run to set up a key fourth-quarter touchdown.
Mahomes also cleaned out a Niners defender in brutal fashion before rushing for that touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
The visitors outrushed San Francisco 184-101 and possessed the ball for more than 35 minutes to prevail again seven months on from their dramatic Super Bowl win in Las Vegas.
Though despite the reigning champions marching on, Kelce was largely absent once again in the Chiefs offense as girlfriend Swift continues her Eras Tour over in Miami.
49ers quarterback Brock Purdy hit 17 of 31 passes for 212 yards but tossed three interceptions, two of them ending potential scoring drives in the second half.
It proved a dramatic encounter at Levi’s Stadium, with Niners offensive lineman Trent Williams ejected late on for punching Chiefs safety Bryan Cook in an astonishing outburst.
San Francisco wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk was also carted off after suffering a gruesome leg injury towards the end of the first half.
After their defeat, Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan expressed fears that Aiyuk suffered a potentially season-ending torn ACL before leaving the game.
San Francisco pulled within 14-12 with 10:29 left in the third quarter when Purdy rushed for the first of his two touchdowns from a yard out but the 49ers failed to make the two-point conversion. It was driving for a possible go-ahead score when Purdy was picked off by Chris Roland-Wallace at the 21-yard line.
Kansas City then ripped off a 79-yard, 13-play drive that lasted nearly seven minutes. Mahomes’ big run set up first-and-goal at the 4 and he scored on a fourth-down run from the 1 with 14:13 left in the game.
After Purdy’s third interception, the Chiefs sealed the outcome by marching 80 yards in 6:20. Mecole Hardman peeled off an 18-yard touchdown run on a jet sweep with 3:09 remaining for an insurmountable 28-12 advantage.
Purdy added his second 1-yard scoring run at the 1:08 mark but the 49ers couldn’t tack on the two-point conversion or recover an onside kick, sealing the outcome.
Kansas City took a 14-6 advantage at the half as Hunt, who finished with 78 yards on 22 carries, scored on runs of 1 and 6 yards in the second quarter.
