Another AFC opponent against whom the Falcons have not had much success.
The Atlanta Falcons kick off Week 3 against an AFC opponent they have sparsely faced in the past, especially when considering that each franchise is over 55 years old. Overall, Atlanta and Kansas City have played head to head a total of 10 times, with the Chiefs owning a 7-3 lead in the all-time series.
The first matchup did not take place until Atlanta’s seventh year of existence, in 1972, and it was a narrow 17-14 Chiefs victory. The next three matchups all went KC’s way, but none were as close, with the Falcons losing by double digits each time.
Atlanta’s first ever victory over the Chiefs came in 2000, in a quarterback matchup between Chris Chandler and Elvis Grbac. The Falcons were powered to a 29-13 win by running back Jamal Anderson. The Chiefs had some get back in the next matchup, four years later, in a 56-10 slaughter where Priest Holmes and Derrick Blaylock scored four rushing touchdowns apiece.
The Falcons ushered in the Matt Ryan era with a pair of early season blowout wins in 2008 and 2012 and looked poised to continue the winning streak in 2016 before the unfortunate “pick 2” resulted in a heartbreaking one-point loss.
Last Matchup
The Week 16 matchup between the Falcons and Chiefs in 2020 was one between two franchises who were going in opposite directions. The Falcons sat at 4-10 and had already guaranteed their third consecutive losing season, while the Chiefs were defending Super Bowl champions and had the best record in the NFL at 13-1.
While nobody gave Atlanta much chance, they successfully ratcheted the intensity of the game up and found themselves in a slugfest. The first points came in the form of a Hayden Hurst touchdown catch from Matt Ryan with 3:35 remaining in the half before Patrick Mahomes answered with a score to Travis Kelce on the subsequent drive.
The second half was just as defensive in nature, with the Falcons finding themselves down 10-7 in the fourth quarter before a Ryan touchdown pass to Laquon Treadwell gave them the unlikeliest of leads with less than five minutes remaining in the game. Just like the first score, however, it was answered immediately in the form of a Mahomes touchdown pass to Demarcus Robinson right at the 2-minute warning.
Down 17-14, Ryan did enough to move the Birds into position to at least tie with a nine-play drive, but Younghoe Koo ended up missing a 39-yard field goal which would have sent the game into overtime.