Mahomes, Chiefs surge, rout Ravens

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for four touchdowns in a resurgent Kansas City Chiefs rout of the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, as the Philadelphia Eagles extended their perfect start to the season with a battling win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

A high-profile showdown between Chiefs quarterback Mahomes and Baltimore counterpart Lamar Jackson at Arrowhead Stadium ended in disappointment for the Ravens, who crashed to a 37-20 defeat.

The win was easily the best performance of the Chiefs misfiring campaign to date, with three-time Super Bowl champion Mahomes in sparkling form for a rampant Kansas City offense.

Mahomes' four-touchdown performance saw him become the fastest quarterback in NFL history to reach 250 passing touchdowns, reaching the milestone in his 116th contest. Pittsburgh's Aaron Rodgers had held the previous fastest mark, needing 121 games to reach 250.

The Chiefs victory saw them improve to 2-2 while the Ravens slipped to 1-3 for the season. Baltimore's defeat was compounded by an injury to quarterback Jackson, who limped out of the game in the third quarter with what appeared to be a right hamstring strain.

Mahomes finished with 270 passing yards for four touchdowns with no interceptions and was buoyed by the return from injury of wide receiver Xavier Worthy, who finished with 83 receiving yards.

"He makes those big plays happen," Mahomes said of Worthy.

"It opens up everybody else so super-excited about how we look. We've got some stuff to clean up -- getting touchdowns instead of field goals, but it's something to build on.”

"To be able to win a game at home, get back to 2-2, we need to keep this momentum."