Coming off two straight home losses, the 4-4 Bucs knew they wouldn’t have it any easier as they were set to face both of the participants in last season’s Super Bowl before their Week 11 bye. Up first was the 7-0 Chiefs, the back-to-back champions, in their home stadium on Monday Night Football.

Given Patrick Mahomes’ 8-3 record on Monday Night Football, his timeless connection with tight end Travis Kelce and the general excellence of the Mahomes/Andy Reid combo, this promised to be a tough matchup for a Tampa Bay defense that has suddenly found itself among the league’s worst. And of course, with the continued absences of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, it was always going to be tough sledding for Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneer offense against one of the NFL’s top defenses.

But as the old cliche goes, that’s why they play the games. The Bucs more than hung around in this one, trailing just 10-7 at halftime before scoring 10 straight in the third quarter to take a 17-10 lead. But that lead didn’t last, as the Chiefs scored the next 10 points to take a 24-17 lead. A gutsy Mayfield-led drive sent the game to overtime, where Kansas City won the coin toss, drove right down the field and won the game without Tampa Bay’s offense even getting a chance to touch the ball.

Here’s a recap of all the action from Monday night’s frustrating overtime loss at Arrowhead Stadium.

Chiefs 30, Bucs 24 (OT)

Chiefs TE Travis Kelce and Bucs NCB Tykee Smith – Photo by: USA Today

The Bucs won the coin toss and deferred, meaning Patrick Mahomes and his Chiefs offense had a chance to go right to work. Early on, it looked far too easy for Kansas City as a steady dose of Travis Kelce quickly got the ball into Tampa Bay territory. But after Xavier Worthy couldn’t keep his feet in on a would-be 32-yard pass to the goal line, Vita Vea stepped up with a huge third-down sack to knock the Chiefs out of field goal range.

After the punt, Baker Mayfield and the Bucs offense went from their 6-yard line. A 9-yard pass to Cade Otton and an 11-yarder to Rachaad White got them out of their own end zone, but the drive ultimately ended in a Trenton Gill punt. It was a 55-yard kick, but Mecole Hardman returned it for 33 yards to give Mahomes and Co. starting field position near midfield.

DeAndre Hopkins got the next Kansas City possession started with catches of eight and 17 yards, then another first down got the ball inside the red zone. But once again a big tackle for loss killed the drive’s momentum, as Yaya Diaby took down Worthy for a 10-yard loss on a first-down reverse. That set the Chiefs behind the sticks and they ultimately settled for a 40-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead with 2:16 left in the opening quarter.

Tampa Bay nearly went three-and-out on its second possession, but a third-down holding call extended the drive just before the first quarter came to an end with Kansas City leading 3-0.

Bucs RB Rachaad White – Photo by: USA Today

After opening the second quarter with a delay of game penalty, the Bucs went to work. Sterling Shepard came up big with two third-down conversions, one on a 19-yard run and the other on a 13-yard catch on 3rd & 9. After that second conversion, Rachaad White cashed in with a 7-yard touchdown run that put Tampa Bay up 7-3 with 10:23 left in the second quarter. That capped an 11-play, 70-yard drive that took 6:53.

The Chiefs answered with a long drive of their own, one that featured three third-down conversions. Justin Watson caught a 19-yard pass on a 3rd & 10, Hopkins caught a 35-yard pass between three defenders on a 3rd & 8 and Mahomes then found Hopkins for a 1-yard touchdown on 3rd & Goal. That took Kansas City to 5-of-7 on third downs and gave the home team a 10-7 lead after an 11-play, 70-yard drive that took 6:18.

The Bucs then went three-and-out right as the two-minute warning hit. Gill booted the ball away just after the break, giving the ball over to Mahomes and his offense at their own 17. After a 20-yard completion from Mahomes to Kelce to convert another third down, the Tampa Bay defense came up with a huge takeaway. After another Kelce catch, Tykee Smith knocked the ball loose and Josh Hayes recovered it.

Mayfield and the offense still couldn’t quite crack the Kansas City defense after the turnover, though, with a costly holding penalty on Cody Mauch converting a third-down conversion and eventually leading to another punt. But with a Calijah Kancey sack to end the half, the Bucs managed to get into the locker room down just three.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

The Bucs got the ball out of halftime and immediately got a spark from Bucky Irving, who ran back the opening kickoff 46 yards to midfield. A Sean Tucker run then picked up a first down, with a horse collar tackle tacked on at the end of it as well. From there, a 9-yard catch by Rakim Jarrett set up an 11-yard touchdown pass from Mayfield to Otton. That gave Tampa Bay a 14-10 lead with 11:36 left in the third quarter.

The Buccaneer defense kept applying the pressure on the ensuing possession, with Kancey coming up with a second sack – this one on third down to force a three-and-out.

An 18-yard pass from Mayfield to Otton got the next drive going, then the two connected for another 15 yards on 3rd & 12 to get the ball inside the Kansas City 30. But a questionable facemask penalty on Tristan Wirfs moved the ball back near midfield, so 7-yard passes to Irving and Otton could only set up a field goal attempt. Still, Chase McLaughlin came on and drilled a 47-yard field goal, which pushed the lead to seven at 17-10.

The Chiefs offense put something together on its next drive, though, with Kareem Hunt taking over on the ground and willing the team down the field. A tackle for loss by Diaby brought the third quarter to the end with the Bucs leading 17-10, but the Chiefs were set to have a 2nd & Goal from the 10 to start the final quarter.

With rain continuing to fall at Arrowhead Stadium, the Chiefs soon tied up the game as Mahomes scrambled to his right and flipped a 7-yard touchdown pass to Samaje Perine. As he did so, his leg locked up awkwardly and he had to be helped off the field, but it was very quickly reported as an ankle injury and that he would return to the game.

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes and WR DeAndre Hopkins – Photo by: USA Today

The Bucs offense went nowhere on its next possession and Mahomes was right back out without missing a snap to start the next drive. Yet another third-down conversion to Kelce got the drive going, then the Chiefs converted a fourth down right around midfield before pushing the ball deeper into Tampa Bay territory. They continued to kill clock and sure enough, they took a 24-17 lead on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Mahomes to Hopkins with 4:17 to go. That drive took 8:26 off the clock, and it left the Bucs with little room to work with.

Tampa Bay quickly went three-and-out and punted, but its defense finally came up with a timely stop to get the ball back with just over two minutes to go.

Trey Palmer caught a 14-yard pass to get things going just before the two-minute warning, then Shepard came up with catches of 18 and nine yards to get the ball into Kansas City territory. A 9-yard run by White and an acrobatic catch by Shepard kept it going, then a scramble for a first down by Mayfield got the ball in the red zone. A 19-yard pass to Palmer then got the ball down to the 1-yard line with 33 seconds to go.

Two plays later, Mayfield found Ryan Miller wide-open in the end zone for his first career touchdown to get within 24-23. Rather than go for two and the win, Todd Bowles elected to kick and tie the game, playing for overtime. McLaughlin’s kick was good, but there was still 27 seconds left for the Kansas City offense to drive down and get a field goal.

After two near-interceptions by Antoine Winfield Jr., the Chiefs had to punt the ball away to send the game to overtime.

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes – Photo by: USA Today

From there, Kansas City won the overtime coin toss and Mayfield never got to touch the ball again. Mahomes led a methodical 10-play, 70-yard drive that ended with a game-winning 2-yard touchdown run by Kareem Hunt. With that, Bowles’ decision to kick the PAT instead of going for two predictably cost him as his defense couldn’t hold up in overtime.

Baker Mayfield finished the night 23-of-31 for 200 yards and two touchdowns, with Cade Otton once again leading the way with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin out. Otton caught eight of his 11 targets for 77 yards and a touchdown. Sterling Shepard came up big on the Bucs’ game-tying drive to end regulation, as did Trey Palmer. And undrafted rookie Ryan Miller capped off that drive with his first career touchdown catch.

But as much as Liam Coen’s offense did to put Tampa Bay in position for a huge road win against one of the best defenses in the NFL, Todd Bowles’ defense couldn’t handle its part. Patrick Mahomes went 34-of-44 for 291 yards and three touchdowns, with Travis Kelce catching 14 of his 16 targets for 100 yards and DeAndre Hopkins hauling in two touchdowns. Kansas City was 12-of-18 on third downs and held the ball for 40:12 to Tampa Bay’s 25:10.

The Bucs (4-5) now return home for another tough contest in Week 10, as they’ll host the defending NFC champion 49ers (4-4) on Sunday. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m.