Jaylen Rivers: "Kansas City's ground game is gone—18 rushing yards is not a bad day, it is a structural failure—and when you cannot run, even Mahomes' 4 touchdowns cannot keep up with what Minnesota did. JJ McCarthy threw 4 of his own and Nyck Harbor caught 3, and that was enough to win a shootout the Chiefs were never built to play." Sierra Vaughn: "Minnesota just beat a team that should be better than them and exposed why Kansas City cannot stay in this race—at 8-5 they look like a playoff team only because of turnover luck, not because they can actually play football. The Vikings are still the Vikings, but they beat somebody today."

Minnesota beat Kansas City 38-28 in a shootout where both quarterbacks threw 4 touchdown passes, but the Vikings controlled what happened on the ground with 40 rushing yards to the Chiefs' 18. Patrick Mahomes completed 21 of 36 for 377 yards and gave Kansas City everything it had, though that wasn't enough when Nyck Harbor caught 7 passes for 163 yards and 3 touchdowns. JJ McCarthy went 20 of 27 for 355 yards and 4 scores of his own, and Minnesota's defense generated 2.5 sacks compared to Kansas City's 1. The Chiefs' commitment to passing on 92 percent of plays left no margin for error against a Minnesota team that at least mixed in some run game.

Hollis Vaughn: "Denver came to play in a shootout but couldn't finish—Bo Nix is cooking 4 straight weeks of 250-plus yards, yet the Broncos are 1-11 because the rest of this team isn't built to win close games like this one." Ava Collins: "Peter Woods got to Bo Nix just once, but that single sack mattered in a game where Denver couldn't afford to lose yardage—KC's ground game ran for 197 yards while the Broncos managed 96, and that gap is why 8 points felt like 16."

Kansas City beat Denver 38-30 in a shootout where the Chiefs' ground game made the difference. Patrick Mahomes went 29 for 39 for 342 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception, while Bo Nix completed 21 of 30 for 278 yards and 1 touchdown. KC's rushing attack produced 197 yards against Denver's 96, and Kansas City's defense generated 3 sacks to Denver's 1. The Chiefs improved to 7-5 while the Broncos fell to 1-11.

Raiders got it done 35-24 over Chiefs. Fernando Mendoza was steady for Raiders — 26/28, 267 yards, 4 TD. Patrick Mahomes did the damage for Chiefs — 23/46, 313 yards — in a losing effort. Patrick Mahomes has now cleared 250 passing yards in 4 in a row. Total yards: Chiefs 462, Raiders 386.

Chiefs took care of Steelers, 26-20. Patrick Mahomes was steady for Chiefs — 25/33, 220 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT. Drew Allar was steady for Steelers — 22/39, 216 yards, 2 INT — in a losing effort. Trey Benson's high-water mark for the year. On the ground: Steelers 150, Chiefs 92.

Chiefs 47, Browns 21, and it was not that close. Patrick Mahomes did the damage for Chiefs — 31/41, 395 yards, 2 TD. Shedeur Sanders did the damage for Browns — 19/32, 237 yards, 1 TD — in a losing effort. That is 7 straight games over 250 for Patrick Mahomes. Total yards: Chiefs 560, Browns 281.

Giveaways decided this one. Chiefs 31, Raiders 20. Fernando Mendoza was steady for Raiders — 28/37, 289 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT — in a losing effort. Patrick Mahomes was steady for Chiefs — 25/32, 233 yards, 2 TD. On the ground: Chiefs 177, Raiders 101.