Los Angeles Rams beat Kansas City Chiefs in historically high-scoring NFL classic
Jared Goff passed for 413 yards and four touchdowns on Monday night, as the Los Angeles Rams edged past the Kansas City Chiefs 54-51 in a historic NFL shootout.
The match between two of the league's best teams was moved from Mexico City to the LA Memorial Coliseum due to poor field conditions in Mexico, but lived up to its billing.
It was the first game in NFL history in which both teams scored more than 50 points, and the highest-scoring Monday night game ever.
Former Chief Marcus Peters had seemingly clinched the victory by grabbing an interception on a pass by Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
That gave the now 10-1 Rams the ball with 1:18 left after they converted three earlier turnovers into 21 points.
However, LA then inexplicably threw three passes, one of which was incomplete, allowing Kansas City to preserve a timeout.
The Chiefs (9-2) got the ball back with 50 seconds left, but Mahomes threw his third interception, caught by Lamarcus Joyner.
Mahomes completed 33 of 46 passes for a career-high 478 yards and six touchdowns, but he turned the ball over five times. Wide receiver Tyreek Hill made 10 receptions for 215 yards and two scores, and tight end Travis Kelce had 10 catches for 127 yards and a score.
The Chiefs also scored a defensive touchdown on a 2-yard fumble return from Allen Bailey following a strip-sack by Justin Houston. The play gave Kansas City a 44-40 lead with 11:07 remaining.
Nonetheless, the Rams capitalised on the unexpected home game, prevailing on an emotional night on which they marked recent tragedies in California including wildfires and the mass shooting in Thousand Oaks.
Mahomes 478 yards thrown was the most by any quarterback in the NFL this season, and the second time this year he has managed six-touchdowns in one game. But it was his five turnovers which proved costly.cker Samson Ebukam.
"I gave them 21 points through turnovers," said Mahomes. "It sucks right now, plain and simple. You wanted a win like that over a playoff team."
"He's made enough of those plays where you have full trust in him," Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. "We always talk about protecting the ball and he usually does a good job of that."
Despite the turnovers, Reid was impressed with the way Mahomes was able to battle through some early adversity. Early in the fourth quarter, he fired a 73-yard touchdown pass to Tyreek Hill to bring the Chiefs within 40-37. It was Mahomes' second-longest completion of the season.
"He's resilient and has confidence in himself. Things are going to happen in a game," Reid said. "The great ones come back firing and tries to rip their hearts out the next series."
