Chiefs vs. Falcons: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2016 Regular Season

The Kansas City Chiefs knew they'd have to pull out all the stops to take down the Falcons in Atlanta. Good thing they had a couple of trick plays up their sleeve to make it happen.

Alex Smith played a near-flawless game and the Chiefs running game got creative as the team held on for a 29-28 win Sunday.

The Chiefs survived on a series of big, unconventional plays. Eric Berry returned two Matt Ryan interceptions to the end zone—the first resulted in a touchdown, while the second became a game-winning two-point return—and Albert Wilson scored on a 55-yard fake punt return.

The NFL's Twitter feed captured Wilson's score, as he went to the house basically untouched.  

The Chiefs spent most of the game having more success with their receivers running the ball than running back Spencer Ware. De'Anthony Thomas, Tyreek Hill and Wilson each received carries that broke for big gains.

Ware, meanwhile, struggled for just 29 yards on the ground on 14 attempts. His inability to break a big gain won't reflect on his fantasy total, however; he was responsible for both of the Chiefs' offensive touchdowns. ESPN's Matthew Berry noted this wasn't Ware's recent norm:

Smith spent most of his afternoon peppering the Falcons secondary with a series of intermediate completions. He hit on 21 of his 25 attempts for 270 yards and a touchdown, with Travis Kelce relentlessly finding himself open in the middle of the field. Kelce led all receivers with eight receptions for 140 yards, his third straight game going over the century mark.

ESPN Stats & Info highlighted the career day:

Hill added five receptions for 53 yards, and Wilson made four grabs for 48. The Chiefs were playing without top wideout Jeremy Maclin, who sat out his fourth straight game with a groin injury. Maclin does appear close to a return, but it'll be interesting to see if he has the same role going forward with Hill and Wilson playing well.

The Falcons dropped to 7-5 despite a mostly solid offensive outing. Ryan threw for 297 yards and a touchdown, spearheading a fourth-quarter comeback from 11 points down that could have won them the game had Berry not come through with another big pick. It was Ryan's 51st consecutive game with at least 200 yards passing.

ESPN's Trey Wingo tweeted about Berry having Ryan's number:

A week after being rendered a secondary figure, Julio Jones made seven receptions for 113 yards. He hasn't hit paydirt in his last three games, but he has gone over the 100-yard mark seven times this season.

Last week's hero, Taylor Gabriel, had five receptions for 44 yards.

The Falcons also got a stellar game from Devonta Freeman,  who had 105 total yards (56 rushing, 49 receiving) and scored two rushing touchdowns. After posting three rushing touchdowns in his first 10 games, Freeman has scored four in the last two weeks. Tevin Coleman, seemingly fully reintegrated into the offense, had 49 yards on 12 carries.

The loss opens the door for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who can move into a tie atop the NFC South with a win over the San Diego Chargers on Sunday. The Falcons are hitting the rosier part of their schedule, though, with the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers on tap the next two weeks.

Kansas City hosts the Oakland Raiders next week in a game that may wind up deciding the AFC West. The Chiefs finish the regular season with three of their four games against divisional opponents. 

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 Postgame Reaction

Falcons safety Ricardo Allen spoke to reporters about the defensive struggles: “It’s been the last five or six games we’ve got out there and we’ve let teams drive down the field on us. We’re putting our offense behind the eight ball. We’re just not communicating enough. We are not playing with enough intent. We get out there and we are trying to feel it out. We have to get out there and play, man. Once that clock starts, it’s time to go.”

Chiefs linebacker Tampa Hali spoke to reporters about Berry: “He watches so much film, it’s ridiculous. He prepares so much that it’s no surprise when he makes big plays. … He just took the ball (on the two-point try) and was off.”

Falcons defensive end Jonathan Babineaux also discussed the loss: “It’s frustrating to lose a game like this. You only get 16 games (in the regular season). You don’t want one of them to slip away.”