NFL: Chiefs lose unbeaten run in Buffalo, Broncos impress, Seahawks edge 49ers in thriller
Kansas City Chiefs (9-1) @ Buffalo Bills (9-2): 21-30
Josh Allen' s Bills handed the Chiefs their first defeat. At Orchard Park, the Bills won 30-21 after a thrilling game from the team that has inflicted so much pain on Buffalo in recent years.
The Chiefs' unbeaten streak had been hanging by a thread for quite some time and was miraculously kept alive last week by a blocked field goal in the very last second against the Denver Broncos.
The game in Buffalo did not start well for the reigning Super Bowl champions. Patrick Mahomes delivered the ball to Taylor Rapp of the Bills as early as his second pass of the game. The Bills answered more than adequately with a touchdown from RB James Cook. Kicker Tyler Bass, however, missed the extra point, putting the Bills up 0-6.
Kansas City answered with a touchdown of its own via WR Xavier Worthy, before James Cook scored his second touchdown of the game. However, the Chiefs regained the initiative not much later after an intercepted pass from Josh Allen and a touchdown from TE Noah Gray.
The Bills managed to regain the lead with a field goal, but anyone who has seen previous games between the Bills and Chiefs knows how unpredictable the closing stages of these encounters can be. With the last 15 minutes on the clock, the Bills extended their lead through Curtis Samuel, before the Chiefs got within two points again with a second touchdown for Gray.
However, the initiative was still with the Bills, who got the ball back with just under eight minutes on the clock. A number of exciting and crucial moments followed, but eventually QB Josh Allen sparkled a dose of magic over the game with a perfectly timed breakaway and touchdown on a fourth down. With over two minutes to go, the Chiefs needed both a touchdown and a field goal to win the game, but even a team with a reputation like the Chiefs' failed to live up to it.
It took 30 games before the Chiefs conceded 28 points and it came on a painful day for the them, as they lose their unbeaten status and have to watch out for the Bills and Steelers as formidable chasers in the AFC.
Seattle Seahawks (5-5) @ San Francisco 49ers (5-5): 20-17
The 49ers suffered a somewhat surprising defeat at their own Levi's Stadium. The visiting Seahawks won 20-17 over the 49ers, who are now bottom in the NFC West, after a late touchdown.
The two teams never lost sight of each other and continued to exchange scores: no team managed to score twice in a row without the other team also scoring points in between. The Niners went into the lockerrooms with a lead of just one point after Brock Purdy's touchdown, who took the ball 10 yards and ran into the end zone himself, and two field goals by Seahawks kicker Jason Myers.
49ers kicker Jake Moody added his own field goal to the scoreboard after halftime, after which Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker got Seattle's first touchdown of the day. Jauan Jennings, the receiver to make up for the long-injured Brandon Aiyuk, was then briefly San Francisco's hero with a touchdown after a drive in which he already caught three passes.
The Seahawks stayed close, however, and managed to work their way through the 49ers' defence more easily after the injury to 49ers star Nick Bosa. With just over two-and-a-half minutes on the clock, Seattle was allowed to push for a drive that could potentially give them the game. QB Geno Smith' s team survived some predicaments and kicked it into the red zone, where Smith took control and with a 13-yard rushing touchdown decided the game in the Seahawks' favour.
Atlanta Falcons (6-5) @ Denver Broncos (6-5): 6-38
The Denver Broncos took advantage of a total 'offday' by the Atlanta Falcons. At their own Empower Field at Mile High, the Broncos won by 38-6 against the Falcons on the back of a particularly efficient Bo Nix.
Nix (28/33, 307 yards, 4 TDs) played the best game of his still young career against the Falcons, who came to just 226 yards of offense and only managed to get on the scoreboard via kicker Younghoe Koo.
Nix picked off touchdown passes to TE Nate Adkins and WR Marvin Mims in the first half. In between, RB Javonte Williams also managed to find the Falcons' end zone and so Denver went into halftime with a 21-6 lead. After halftime, WR Troy Franklin, who had already played with Nix at Oregon University, also managed to score a touchdown and Lil'Jordan Humphrey was also allowed to add six points to Denver's total.
With the win over Atlanta, the Broncos and HC Sean Payton, who once won the Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints, have won all games against NFC South opponents this season.