Associated Press
Patrick Mahomes tied a franchise record with six touchdown passes and the Kansas City put on an impressive offensive display in a 42-37 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
The 22-year-old Mahomes finished 23 of 28 for 326 yards in his third career start as the Chiefs (2-0) won in Pittsburgh for the first time since 1986. Mahomes has 10 touchdown passes through two weeks, the most ever by a quarterback through two games in NFL history.
Trevor Kelce caught seven passes for 109 yards and two scores. Tyreek Hill, Chris Conley, Kareem Hunt and Demarcus Robinson also hauled in touchdown passes as the Chiefs recovered in the second half after blowing an early 21-pont lead.
Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger shook off an achy right elbow that limited him in practice during the week, completing 39 of 60 passes for 452 yards and three touchdowns. The 36-year-old also leapt into the end zone for a 3-yard score with 1:59 to go that got the Steelers (0-1-1) within five.
Rather than attempt an onside kick, Pittsburgh sent it deep. Two runs by Hunt gave Kansas City a big first down and Steelers linebacker Tyler Matakevich was flagged for roughing the punter as the Chiefs ended a six-game losing streak in Pittsburgh.
It might be the first of several turnarounds by the Chiefs, who made the surprising decision trade away veteran Alex Smith in the offseason and place the franchise in the hands of untested but strong-armed Mahomes.
So far, so very, very good.
PREVIEW
Yo Le'Veon! Where you at? Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell isn't with the team as he continue his holdout in a - contract? - dispute. Bell is expected to miss his second consecutive game when the Steelers face Kansas City on Sunday (10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET, KOIN-6, CBS or try FuboTV (free trial).
You can also watch the live stream of the game on cbs.com/all-access, verizonwireless.com, playstationvue, AppleTV, and SlingTV.
Bell has missed training camp, preseason and the Steelers (0-0-1) tie against the Cleveland Browns in Week 1. Bell has yet to sign his franchise tag contract and cannot sign a new deal until after the season, so the speculation is he is holding out to avoid an injury and preserve his body in anticipation of becoming a free agent in 2019. His absence has opened fissures in the locker room, with players taking sides in Bell's dispute.
The Steelers didn't seem to miss Bell that much in their 21-21 tie with the Browns. They - particularly quarterback Ben Roethlisberger - just played a sloppy game. Roethlisberger threw three interceptions and lost two fumbles in the game and the Steelers blew a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter. Roethlisberger missed practice on Wednesday and Thursday with an elbow injury, but he's expected to play on Sunday. Running back James Conner, who replaced Bell in the lineup, ran 31 times for 135 yards and two touchdowns.
Kansas City (1-0) quarterback Patrick Mahomes took a major step toward quieting the doubters with eye-popping performance in Kansas City's 38-28 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Kansas City traded Alex Smith to make room for the second-year quarterback and he responded by throwing four touchdown passes.
Two of Mahomes scoring passes with to wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who had seven catches for 169 yards, and he scored another touchdown on a 91-yard punt return. All-Pro safety Eric Berry isn't expected to play. Berry hasn't played in a game since suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon in Week 1 of the 2017 season, hasn't practiced since August.
You can get the latest score and stats from the game in the box score provided above and here's everything you need to know in order to watch the Kansas City-Steelers game:
What: Kansas City vs Pittsburgh Steelers
When: Sunday, Sept. 16, 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET
Where: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PA
TV: KOIN-6, CBS
Watch online: You can watch the live stream of the game on FuboTV (free trial), cbs.com/all-access, verizonwireless.com, playstationvue, AppleTV, and SlingTV.
FuboTV is a paid affiliate of Advance Local Media LLC. Advance Local Media LLC may receive compensation if you access the FuboTV service through the link above.
-- Geoffrey C. Arnold | @geoffreyCarnold