Nick Bolton strikes: Here’s the report card from a heart-stopping Chiefs victory

Nothing comes easily for the Chiefs.

With a 22-17 victory Sunday night over the Atlanta Falcons in the Chiefs’ first road game, KC won in the final minute for the third straight week.

Give the game ball to the defense for coming up with a fourth-down stop in the shadow of the end zone to end the Falcons’ final opportunity.

KC STAR OF THE GAME

Linebacker Nick Bolton shot the gap untouched and brought down running back Bijan Robinson for a 3-yard loss on fourth-and-1 from the Chiefs’ 13.

Game over.

Bolton, who missed a few snaps earlier in the quarter with a back injury, gutted out the final few plays and played his best game of the season. He finished with three tackles for loss among his eight stops.

More Kansas City Chiefs coverage

News, analysis and storylines from the Chiefs’ road win over Atlanta Falcons on Sunday night.

→ 5 takeaways from the dramatic nail-biter

→ How KC graded out — and the night’s best player

→ What we learned from the road win

→ Download our exclusive game-day poster

Next up

The Chiefs meet their first AFC West opponent of the 2024 season when they travel to Los Angeles to take on the Chargers.

Kickoff is set for 3:25 p.m. Central Time next Sunday, and the game will be broadcast on CBS (Channel 5 in Kansas City).

REPORT CARD

Passing offense: C

Chiefs ball, four minutes remaining with a five-point lead.

How many times in the Patrick Mahomes era have they picked up a couple of first downs and taken a knee? This time, it was a three-and-out. It didn’t cost the Chiefs, but the passing game remains a work in progress.

Mahomes’ touchdown passes to Rashee Rice and JuJu Smith-Schuster were on similar cross routes. Rice set a career best with 12 receptions. Smith-Schuster’s touchdown came on his first reception of the season.

If Justin Simmons is on the opposing team, count on an interception. His first-quarter pick in the end zone was the sixth of his career against Mahomes (with the others coming when Simmons played for the Denver Broncos.)

According to NBC, the six career picks is the most by a player against another player in the NFL.

Rushing offense: B

It was the first game without injured running back Isiah Pacheco. Carson Steele got the start and pounded away for 72 yards on 17 carries, mostly behind center Creed Humphrey and guards Joe Thuney and Trey Smith.

But the Chiefs got too cute at the goal line early in the third quarter. On first and goal at the 3, the Chiefs tried a direct snap to Steele, followed by a jumbo package. Those two plays went for a combined minus-1 yard.

An ensuing incompletion led to another field goal.

Passing defense: B

The Chiefs got a lousy break on a questionable roughing-the-passer penalty on Chris Jones that kept the Falcons from having to punt and led to their second touchdown.

A couple of firsts before halftime: Felix Anudike-Uzomah got the first sack of his career, and pressure from Tershawn Wharton forced a wobby Kirk Cousins pass that Chamarri Conner caught for the Chiefs’ first interception this season. The latter play led to a late field goal.

The Falcons lost two offensive linemen to injuries before halftime, and Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo took advantage by dialing up pressure that flustered Cousins.

A low point: Big confusion between the Chiefs’ Nazeeh Johnson and Drue Tranquill allowed Drake London to break free for the game’s first touchdown.

Rushing defense: A

The Chiefs were excellent in limiting RB Bijan Robinson, who went for 97 and nearly 7 yards per carry last week against Philadelphia. Robinson finished with 31 yards on 16 attempts, fewer than 2 yards per touch.

The excellent defensive effort, holding the Falcons to 82 rushing yards, allowed the Chiefs to dominate time of possession.

Special teams: C

Harrison Butker connected on field goals from 53, 44 and 21 yards. But his missed extra point kept the Chiefs’ lead at one score (eight points) at the end of the third quarter.

And what happened on James Winchester’s snap to punter Matt Araiza early in the fourth quarter? Araiza saved Winchester’s bacon with a leaping catch and got off a good punt.