6. Wide receiver Tyquan Thornton made several big-time catches.
The Chiefs needed somebody to step up on Sunday night with wide receiver Xavier Worthy unavailable for the second straight week, and as the game unfolded, it was clear that Thornton was up for the task.
Thornton went on to catch five passes for 71 yards on the night, three of which either moved the chains or found the end zone on third down. He caught a 5-yard touchdown on 3rd-and-3 midway through the third quarter, a 21-yard pass on 3rd-and-6 a bit later and made a fantastic, 33-yard grab on 3rd-and-10 that set up the Chiefs’ final touchdown.
It was an awesome showing for Thornton, who looks to be carving out a role in the Chiefs’ offense moving forward.
7. The opening drive of the second-half set the tone for the rest of the game.
Leading by just three points heading into halftime, the Chiefs were in need of a dominant scoring drive to open up the third quarter, and fortunately, that’s exactly what took place.
Kansas City marched 74 yards on 11 plays during the series, converting two third downs, and what really stood out about the drive was the balance between the run and the pass. The Chiefs recorded six runs (for 29 yards) and five passes (for 45 yards) on the possession, which included an average of seven yards-per-play on three first down runs.
The Chiefs were also explosive on the series, logging three plays that picked up 10+ yards.
8. The Chiefs found some success running the ball on Sunday.
Kansas City entered Sunday’s game with the 17th-most rushing yards in the NFL, and over half of that production was courtesy of Patrick Mahomes. Those results obviously weren’t what the Chiefs were looking for through the first two weeks, but things were much better on Sunday night.
Specifically, Kansas City racked up 105 rushing yards as a team between tailbacks Isiah Pacheco (45 yards), Kareem Hunt (34 yards) and Brashard Smith (13 yards), plus wide receiver Nikko Remigio (11 yards) and Mahomes (2 yards).
Pacheco, in particular, averaged 4.5 yards-per-carry across his 10 attempts (while back in his hometown and playing in front of dozens of friends and family). Hopefully, that performance will be the sign of things to come.
9. Tailback Kareem Hunt found the end zone for the first time this season.
Hunt plunged forward for a 1-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter to essentially put the game away. It was Hunt’s first score of the season a year after the veteran tailback ranked second on the team in total touchdowns in 2024 (with 7).
Hunt is one of four players, joining Patrick Mahomes (2), Tyquan Thornton (2) and tight end Travis Kelce (1) to find the end zone for Kansas City so far this year.
10. The Chiefs defeated the Giants in New York for the first time in franchise history.
In a somewhat unbelievable bit of history, the Chiefs had never beaten the Giants on the road prior to Sunday’s game. In fact, the Giants were the only team Kansas City had never defeated on the road, dropping all seven of their previous attempts.
Well, that’s all history now following Sunday’s win, and now at 1-2 through three weeks, Kansas City will have an opportunity to even its record this weekend with a matchup against Baltimore Ravens up next.