Matt Moore and the Chiefs' offense did just enough to outlast the Vikings and ended Week 9 with a 26-23 win.
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Final Score
Kansas City Chiefs 26, Minnesota Vikings 23
Kansas City Chiefs
It was a competent enough display for the most part from Matt Moore. The fill-in quarterback was able to get Tyreek Hill involved with enough explosive plays to keep the points flowing and largely avoided turnover-worthy plays. In some respects, he earned himself some good fumble luck, with his late self-induced fumble luckily recovered in what could have been the game-deciding moment.
Damien Williams out-snapped, out-carried and outplayed LeSean McCoy. On the evidence of this effort, highlighted by his magnificent 91-yard touchdown run, he'll be the back this offense trusts going forward with his contribution a key in keeping the Vikings' defense off-kilter throughout the second half.
It was a welcome return for Chris Jones, who showed no rust at all with the kind of performance we've come to expect from the talented defensive lineman. A force against the run and pass, he got himself on the sack sheet and generated numerous other pressures as he physically overmatched the Vikings' offensive line.
Teams haven't been shy about going after Charvarius Ward, and the Vikings were no different. But the former Middle Tennessee Blue Raider had a good showing, with two forced incompletions being the highlight of a competitive day.
Minnesota Vikings
There were some good moments from Kirk Cousins, but problematic accuracy left a lot of yards and good situations on the field. Cousins has been playing spectacularly well the past month, but his November effort resembled his shaky September rather than his outstanding October.
Second-round tight end Irv Smith Jr. looks set to become a bigger and bigger part of the offense, especially if it takes Adam Thielen time to get healthy. He matched a career-high for targets, and while the stat line doesn't jump out at you, it doesn't show the mismatch he looks like on the field for this offense.
As the game wore on, Everson Griffen seemed to figure out Cam Erving and then unload a pass-rush that Erving wasn't equipped to deal with. His ability to get around Erving late in the game looked like it might be enough to get the Vikings the win, but regardless of the result, his effort can't be faulted.
It's not easy covering Tyreek Hill, and perhaps in the future, Trae Waynes will expect a little more help. He was unable to slow the speedster down and was beaten every which way. Double moves, contested catches and pure speed. The former first-round pick just had no answers on this day.
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