The Chiefs are far from perfect, but good enough to start a crucial four-game series with a win.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — These Kansas City chiefs are imperfect. Through 14 games, they are well aware of their imperfections.

During Sunday’s 27-17 win over the New England Patriots, the Chiefs learned even more about embracing their imperfections.

“We’ve got to find a way to put the game together,” Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said from the podium inside Gillette Stadium.

In the Chiefs’ locker room, pass rusher Chris Jones had just three words to describe his team’s performance.

“It was okay,” Jones said. “We struggled two games in a row and we’re not used to that. Whatever we want to accomplish, we’ve got a group here to accomplish it. We have great talent who can lead the way. We have a lot of great veterans and young players who want to get better and are willing to listen. It’s okay. There’s no panic here. It’s just a sense of urgency to get better. .”

Across the locker room was receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling. He expressed confidence that Sunday’s win — the first of a pivotal four-game series to end the regular season — could be the start of the Chiefs’ march towards the best version of themselves. .

“This is the same group we had last year that won the Super Bowl and helped the Pats win MVP,” Valdes-Scantling said of the Chiefs’ skill position players. “I think people forget about that because we lost one (receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster). I believe we’re all going to continue to figure this out.”

The Chiefs defeated the Patriots and avoided their first three-game losing streak with Mahomes as the starting QB. The win kept the Chiefs’ slim hopes of clinching the AFC’s top playoff seed alive, including home-field advantage and a first-round bye. The Chiefs know their only chance to accomplish that is by sweeping their remaining four opponents, led by their backup quarterback.

Before kickoff, Mahomes raised his voice and implored his teammates to be more energetic. In the last three games, the Chiefs never led in the first half.

“We wanted to put pressure on them,” Mahomes said.

Sunday’s game was the first in NFL history to feature two head coaches with at least 250 regular-season wins, Andy Reid (Chiefs) and Bill Belichick (Patriots). As Reid has done in past matchups, he made one of his most creative plays of the season against the Chiefs inside the red zone. The content of the play was also unusual.

Mahomes didn’t line up at his usual shotgun spot. Instead, he was in a three-point stance next to running back Jerick McKinnon. Mahomes figures the last time he lined up in a three-point stance was in 2017 when he ran the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine.

“That (play) was naive,” Mahomes said.

After receiving the direct snap, MacKinnon, a former Georgia Southern quarterback, did something that was not intended in the play. He executed a pop pass to rookie receiver Laci Rice. They hadn’t actually tried it the past three weeks, but McKinnon told Rice his idea before going into the huddle.

Rice maneuvered a misdirected pass behind the line of scrimmage, but secured the catch and ran up the field for an easy 4-yard touchdown.

“Last year, there were a little more plays like that in the playbook,” McKinnon said. “It’s always good to do something like that, something a little different. It was fun.”

McKinnon knew Rice’s seventh touchdown reception of the season would set a Chiefs rookie record.

“I wasn’t necessarily here just to break the rookie record,” Rice said. “There’s a lot more going on for me. I told the Jets, he’s part of history. That’s great. I think this play will be adopted by a lot of other teams. I’m sure. It’s pretty cool to pull off a trick play like this.”

Mahomes also contributed to the play’s design. He suggested to Reed that left guard Joe Souney snap the ball to MacKinnon instead of center Creed Humphrey. Mahomes believed it would help confuse the defensive line.

“They kind of pushed the D-line a little bit (to the left) because they thought Creed was the center,” Mahomes said of the Patriots. “I’m glad it worked. We’re a tough team to score in the red zone, so we executed at a high level to make that kind of play that we’ve been working on for a long time.”

Of course, the Chiefs (9 wins, 5 losses) did not have a perfect performance against the Patriots (3 wins, 11 losses) on Sunday.

On back-to-back possessions, right guard Trey Smith allowed a sack on the end of the drive and gave up pressure, allowing Mahomes to throw a 50-50 pass down the middle of the field to rookie safety Marte. – Mapu intercepted and Mapu stole the pass. He takes the ball away from tight end Blake Bell. With less than five minutes to go before halftime, the Patriots held a three-point lead.

The Chiefs responded with the right level of focus. Mahomes led the team with four consecutive drives that produced points.

“He was more focused than I’ve ever seen him,” tight end Travis Kelce said of Mahomes. “I don’t think that’s going to change once the season is over and we get into the playoffs.”

The Chiefs’ defense was solid, holding the Patriots to 3.3 yards on 16 rushing attempts.

Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo called blitzes early and often, forcing players to swarm quarterback Bailey Zappe and sacking him four times, allowing the Patriots to score on their first five drives after halftime. I prevented it. Zappe’s first pass in the third quarter was intercepted by linebacker Willie Gay, who stepped back to cover tight end Pharoah Brown before catching the ball near the sideline.

“Willie made a hell of a play,” linebacker Nick Bolton said. “That’s what we needed at the time. We were kind of bad at creating turnovers and giving the offense short fields. That’s something we have to continue to build on. It’s something we have to work harder at. That’s what I want to do.”

Even more impressive two plays later, running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire improvised in the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown while Mahomes ad-libbed outside the pocket. It created a personal highlight. The 5-foot-7 Edwards-Helaire finished the play with the Chiefs’ best high-point catch of the season, making a reception past linebacker Jalani Tavai in the back of the end zone.

“I love that guy,” Kelce said of Edwards-Helaire, who had his best performance of the season with 101 all-purpose yards on 17 touches. “He was hanging on and waiting for his chance. He’s the unsung hero of today, that’s for sure.”

The Chiefs offense once again made the defense tough. Ten of the Patriots’ points were byproducts of the Chiefs’ offense, and two of the interceptions were mistakes by pass catcher Bell and receiver Kadarius Toney, not by the quarterback. Mahomes expressed his frustration with Toney on the sideline, but still completed 27 of 37 attempts for 305 yards and two touchdowns.

Mahomes said Sunday was the first step in the Chiefs’ mission to win their final four games before the postseason. Mahomes doesn’t expect perfect play next week when the Chiefs host the Las Vegas Raiders for Christmas. He knows his message to his teammates will likely be similar to the one he delivered several times this season.

“We have to keep playing the full game,” Mahomes said. “That’s the biggest thing. Just continuing to play great football full games is what we’re going to continue to strive for.”

(Clyde Edwards-Helaire Photo: Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)

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