KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The entire midway point of the Kansas City Chiefs’ season could be summed up by their performance Monday night against Tampa Bay.

They had their mistakes, their turnovers, their missed tackles on defense, and they allowed a team they were expected to beat easily to stay until the end of regulation.

Then they won anyway.

The Buccaneers gave Patrick Mahomes and Co. one more chance in overtime, after they elected to kick the PAT and tie the game after his touchdown with 27 seconds left, and the Chiefs quickly scored a TD from theirs for a 30-24 victory.

That improved the Chiefs to 8-0, making them just the sixth defending Super Bowl champion to reach that mark undefeated, and they have done so by a very narrow margin. Kansas City is winning by an average of 7.0 points per game, the smallest margin of victory of nearly half a point of the 41 teams in NFL history that have won their first eight games.

The previous low was 7.4 points, set by the Colts in 2006. They won the Super Bowl.

“Against a team with an offense like that,” Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield said, “you can only give them so many opportunities.”

More specifically, you can only hit mahomes so many possibilities.

The two-time NFL MVP had played a pedestrian first seven games, throwing a pick in each of them. But with three-time All-Pro receiver DeAndre Hopkins suddenly at his disposal, courtesy of a trade with the Titans, Mahomes once again threw the ball all over the field. He threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns against the Bucs, of which Hopkins had two.

“Pat and I just went out there and made plays,” Hopkins said afterward.

Just as he has done so many times with so many wide receivers.

In fact, Mahomes looked his old self against Tampa Bay, rallying the Chiefs on two long fourth-quarter touchdown drives to take the lead with 4:17 left, despite playing with a sore ankle. And when Mayfield and the Bucs forced overtime with his touchdown in the final minute, Mahomes went 5-for-5 in the extra session, setting up Kareem Hunt’s winning touchdown.

Mahomes improved to 47-19 in games decided by a touchdown or less, including the playoffs. The only better quarterback with at least 30 games on his resume is Daryle Lamonica, who went 24-5-6 during a 12-year career with Buffalo and Oakland.

However, Mahomes is the first to point out that all of those wins are a team effort. The Chiefs’ defense remains one of the best in the NFL, especially against the run, while the arrival of Hunt has allowed them to maintain some semblance of offensive balance.

The result has been a perfect start in their quest for an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl title.

What is working?

The Chiefs’ passing game has finally improved, thanks in large part to Hopkins, who had eight receptions for 86 yards in just his second game with Kansas City. Even when he wasn’t catching passes Monday night, the Buccaneers were forced to pay attention to him, and that freed up Travis Kelce to catch 14 passes, his most in a regular-season game, for 100 yards.

What needs help?

The Chiefs have struggled all season covering tight ends, starting in Week 1 with Baltimore’s Isaiah Likely to Tampa Bay’s Cade Otton on Monday night. Otton finished with eight receptions for 77 yards and a touchdown.

Supply

Chiefs cornerback Chris Roland-Wallace has quietly excelled when forced into the role following an injury to Jaylen Watson that will sideline him for the rest of the season. Nazeeh Johnson was also missing while in concussion protocol.

Stock down

The Chiefs expected first-round pick Xavier Worthy to have a bit of boom or bust as a rookie, and the speedster has been more bust than boom lately. He carried twice for minus 10 yards and failed to catch any of his targets against Tampa Bay. Worthy has only had more than three receptions or eclipsed 47 receiving yards once in the first eight games.

Injuries

Mahomes sprained his ankle against Tampa Bay but finished the game, and WR Mecole Hardman (shoulder), DE George Karlaftis (hip) and DE Turk Wharton (right knee) also played with minor injuries. The Chiefs hope to get Johnson back this week, while it’s starting to look promising that RB Isiah Pacheco (fractured fibula) could return at some point this season.

Key number

30 – The Chiefs, once known for their prolific offense, scored 30 points on Monday night, although they needed overtime to do so, for the first time since beating the Raiders 31-17 on Nov. 26, 2023.

Next steps

The Chiefs will have a rare noon kickoff at Arrowhead Stadium when they play the AFC West rival Denver Broncos next Sunday.

___

AP NFL: