Clutch defensive stands, including crucial red zone stops, powered a dramatic overtime comeback against the Colts, reigniting Chiefs' playoff hopes.
The Kansas City Chiefs lost two games in a row to the Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos. That caused plenty of concern in Kansas City as they dropped to 5-5 and continued to freefall in the AFC standings.
But, a 23-20 overtime win over the AFC South-leading Indianapolis Colts was a massive one for Kansas City.
Whether or not they can keep the momentum building remains to be seen, but things are looking better than before in Kansas City.
Eric Edholm of NFL.com had some takeaways after the win over the Colts, and one involved the Chiefs' defense coming through in the clutch.
Here's what Edholm wrote:
"After the Chiefs’ offense went three-and-out, the Colts drove to the Kansas City red zone, looking to break the game open. The Chiefs held the Colts to a field goal, giving Indy a 17-9 lead. Another quick Chiefs possession was followed by another impressive Colts drive down to the Kansas City 7-yard line. Once again Kansas City held, keeping it to a 20-9 deficit. Those two stops were massive and helped allow the Chiefs to come back to win. But they also needed four more incredible defensive series in the fourth quarter and overtime to finish the job, holding the Colts to 13 yards on 12 plays while Patrick Mahomes and the offense carried them to victory. Despite the extra period, the Colts were held to 255 yards after gaining at least 317 in every game previously. Keeping Jones in check was important, but the key was stopping Taylor from getting going, four times tackling him for losses."
This also marked the first one-score victory for Andy Reid's team this season, and they had lost the previous two games by one score.
In Week 13, the road doesn't get easier as the Chiefs face the Dallas Cowboys on the road on Thanksgiving Day, and they then face the Houston Texans and Los Angeles Chargers before an easier game against the Tennessee Titans.
But, the defense did its part, and it now has a tough test against Dak Prescott and the high-flying Cowboys offense.