Chiefs Stifle Giants in 22-9 Win to Avoid 0-3 Start

Although it wasn’t the prettiest of games for the Kansas City Chiefs, the three-time defending AFC champions were able to collect their first win of the season against the New York Giants during prime time on Sunday night. Both the Giants and Chiefs entered Sunday’s match-up looking to avoid an 0-3 start to the 2025 NFL season. Here’s how the Chiefs were able to get back in the winning column this week.

Defensive Domination

After the Giants had one of their more explosive offensive outings in recent memory against the Cowboys last week, many Giants fans had some hope heading into this week’s game against the Chiefs. However, Kansas City held the Giants in check throughout the game, holding the Giants to just 1 for 10 on third down and only 281 yards of offense on the night. Giants star Quarterback Russell Wilson also came back down to earth after his 450-yard performance last week, as the ten-time Pro-Bowler was only able to muster 160 passing yards on the night with two interceptions to boot. That poor performance in the passing game also culminated in perhaps star receiver Malik Nabers worst performance in his career up to this point, as the Chiefs secondary held Nabers to 2 catches for 13 yards on the night.

Welcome to New York, Cam Skattebo

While the Giants may have lost the game, it wasn’t exactly all negative for the G-Men as rookie running-back Cam Skattebo continued to show why he’s quickly becoming a fan favorite in the big apple. The Arizona State product collected over 121 total yards on the night, showcasing the offensive versatility that Skattebo was famous for in college. Both Skattebo’s versatility and innate ability to churn out tough yards has been one of the few bright spots so far this year for the Giants, and could very well lead to a potential Offensive Rookie of the Year season from the Giants fourth-round pick.

Concerns for the Chiefs Moving Forward

Undisciplined and unnerved, those are two words that many wouldn’t associate with the Chiefs during the Mahomes era, but this season has been an uncharacteristic one for Kansas City. The issues that continued to rear its ugly head for the Chiefs in this game is the lack of run-game compounded by another poor showing by the offensive line. Chiefs running-back Isiah Pacheco has only managed to rush for only 102 yards this season, with Mahomes having to shoulder the bulk of the Chiefs rushing attack through the first 3 games. While Kansas City can hold their hats on both their defense and Mahomes brilliance in extending plays to keep drives alive, their previous games against the Eagles and Chargers showed that even though those two things will keep them in games, it won’t be nearly enough to beat the good teams.

Final Thoughts

After avoiding a dreaded 0-3 start to the season, the Chiefs show they got some fight in them. The win also helps them keep pace in the fight for the AFC West division race, as both the Raiders and Broncos dropped to 1-2 to this past week, which keeps the Chiefs within striking distance of the undefeated Chargers who occupy first place. As for the Giants, the schedule only gets tougher from this point on, as they face that undefeated Chargers team, as well as the Philadelphia Eagles twice in 3 weeks next month. While the Giants have a strong chance to collect their first win against the Saints in week 5, an 0-3 start to the year does not provide a positive outlook for the rest of the Giants season.