⚡ FLASH NEWS: Chiefs pull off a breathtaking overtime win against the Colts, and these 3 takeaways reveal everything you missed.QQ

Here is the rapid reaction from Kansas City’s 23-20 win over Indianapolis

On Sunday afternoon, the Kansas City Chiefs survived in overtime to beat the Indianapolis Colts 23-20, pushing their record to 6-5 and avoiding a three-game losing streak.

Patrick Mahomes overcame discomfort caused by Lou Anarumo

Going into the game, it was widely believed that former Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo — who is now leading the Indianapolis defense — would make things difficult for Mahomes and the Kansas City offense. That narrative was borne out for much of this matchup.

It started right away: on the second play of the Chiefs’ opening drive, Kansas City’s quarterback faked a handoff and looked for a short completion across the middle — but the Colts’ defensive end Laiatu Latu was prepared to watch Mahomes’ eyes and get in the way. He picked off the pass deep in Kansas City territory and set up the first Indianapolis touchdown.

The Colts’ defense focused on blanketing the Chiefs’ wide receivers on every dropback and funneled passes to safety valves like tight ends and running backs. The unit constantly forced Mahomes to remain patient.

When he was, the Chiefs were able to drive methodically down the field; the offense put together four drives that lasted 10 plays or longer. But that patience sometimes turned to restlessness — even when the pass protection could seal a pocket from a three-man rush. On one third down in the second quarter, Mahomes stepped directly into the defender who was spying him, who was credited with a sack.

Anarumo got the best of Mahomes late in the game as well. Kansas City trailed 20-17 in the fourth quarter — and the offense went three-and-out. On second down, Mahomes succumbed to a sack against a light rush; then his third-down to pass tight end Travis Kelce failed against tight coverage.

As this long game slugged on, Mahomes settled in behind the pass protection — and made significant completions in overtime by remaining patient. On third down, he stepped up in the pocket to find wide receiver Xavier Worthy near midfield as he was hit by a blitzer. A few plays later, he waited for wide receiver Rashee Rice to pop open, setting up the game-winning field goal.

Mahomes finished with just a 63% completion rate and a passer rating of 77.4 — which was dragged down by the interception. But he threw for 352 yards, finding long gains through the air when they were necessary.

The Chiefs’ defense kept the game within reach

The Chiefs’ defense came into the game with a mission to stifle the Colts’ star running back Jonathan Taylor on early downs — and force quarterback Daniel Jones to overcome third downs. On the opening drive, the Chiefs executed by setting up third-and-15; a catch-and-run got close to the sticks, but the ensuing fourth-down attempt was negated by a false start.

It was a strong start for Kansas City’s defense, which continued to hold its own against the NFL’s leading rusher as the game wore on. Taylor totaled just 58 yards over 16 attempts, which included a 27-yard rush. That gash came on third-and-short; outside of that run, Kansas City held the league’s top back to 2.1 yards per rush.

That forced Indianapolis into enough third downs to disrupt its offensive rhythm. The team faced 13 third downs and only converted five; none of the failed attempts even became a fourth-down attempt. Two of the failed third downs came in the red zone, leading to field goals instead of touchdowns that could have widened the Colts’ initial margin.

The situational failures nearly boiled over

The Chiefs’ offensive struggles have typically come in failures on third down, in the red zone and on late-half drives. That theme was prevalent throughout this game — and almost made the difference between a much-needed win and a demoralizing loss.

In the first half, Kansas City entered a goal-to-go situation twice and failed to score a touchdown either time. A Kelce rushing touchdown was negated by a questionable penalty on right tackle Jawaan Taylor — but that only added to problems near the end zone. Kansas City also finished the second quarter with a methodical drive that took the remainder of the clock, but ended with a field goal. Getting the ball back to begin the third quarter, the Chiefs blew an opportunity to “double up,” quickly going three-and-out — and still trailing.

The most crucial of the red zone situations could have ended the game in Kansas City’s favor before overtime. The offense took possession with just under five minutes remaining. Mahomes captained a drive that lasted 15 plays and gained 87 yards, reaching first-and-goal from the 2-yard line — but the Chiefs could not score a touchdown. A predictable run from shotgun was stuffed in the backfield on first down. That eventually led to a field goal to set up overtime.

Kansas City had only four conversions over 12 third-down attempts at one point, but ended the game converting three of five tries; two of the misses were followed up with conversions on fourth down. Overall, the Chiefs punched in a touchdown on just one of the six trips into the red zone — but the last one ended in the game-winning overtime field goal.