KANSAS CITY, Missouri – Patrick Mahomes was rolling to the right in the first half of the Kansas City Chiefs’ preseason game against the Detroit Lions on Saturday when he noticed Travis Kelce had run the wrong route.

So, out of spite, Mahomes threw the ball to his trusty tight end anyway – by throwing the ball behind his back.

The bold throw was the highlight of an otherwise forgettable preseason game in which Mahomes threw 93 yards in two clean runs, but the Lions recovered and won 24-23 with a 43-yard field goal by former University of Arkansas kicker Jake Bates shortly before the end.

“I always told you it had to happen naturally,” said Mahomes, who has played around with behind-the-back passes in practice but has never tried it in a game. “I knew it was accurate. It was just too low. But like I said, it wasn’t — I didn’t do it to look cool. I did it because I was so (mad) (at Kelce), like, ‘Why did you run that route like that?’ And it just worked.”

Mahomes completed 8 of 14 passes and led the Chiefs to two field goals against the Lions’ backup defense. He also led Kansas City to a field goal in its only series in the season opener against the Jaguars last week.

But none of it will be remembered as much as his behind-the-back pass to Kelce as Detroit defensive lineman Josh Paschal began charging toward him.

Kelce reached down and caught the pass, and the third-and-3 completion at Detroit’s 33-yard line was enough for a first down and contributed to an eventual field goal.

“He does it every day in practice,” said Chiefs coach Andy Reid. “I’m OK with it as long as it’s a success.”

It didn’t take long for clips of the pass to go viral. Kelce’s brother and former Eagles center Jason Kelce tweeted, “The damn bastard actually did it!” Quinton Lucas, the mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, added, “That was unnecessary, but beautiful!”

Carson Wentz took over for Mahomes and was 5 of 10 passing for 31 yards with a touchdown throw to Xavier Worthy. The speedy first-round pick from Texas had three catches for 62 yards and the touchdown while adding 11 yards on a running attempt.

Lions coach Dan Campbell opted to bench his starters for the second preseason game, just as he did last year against the Jaguars. Campbell had not commented on his plan for the game earlier in the week, but canceled a practice game scheduled for Wednesday because the team had suffered so many injuries in training camp.

Nate Sudfeld completed 14 of 27 passes for 196 yards, a touchdown and an interception, and looks to secure the job as the backup behind Detroit starter Jared Goff. Hendon Hooker, who returned from a concussion last week against the Giants, completed 12 of 15 passes for 150 yards and ran for a touchdown to gain some edge in the contest.

The Lions’ special teams were in preseason form for most of the game. They dropped the ball on a kickoff return – Wentz hit Worthy three plays later for their touchdown strike. They also dropped a punt return and Bates missed an extra point.

On the other hand, Bates managed the kick that gave the Lions the win.

“It’s a big kick,” Campbell said. “It’s been two weeks in a row. He makes a 53-yarder (last week against the Giants) and a 55-yarder and then a game-winning score. Every time he does something like that, you gain a little more confidence in him.”

Bears 27, Bengals 3

CHICAGO — Caleb Williams made another impact in his first appearance at Soldier Field since Chicago selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, running for a touchdown and leading two scoring drives as the Bears beat Cincinnati.

Williams got off to a slow start after an impressive and brief outing in his first preseason game last week in Buffalo. Chicago made three on its first three possessions on a rainy afternoon and was eliminated. The former USC star then showed the arm and agility the Bears rely on, leading them to a field goal and a rushing touchdown.

Williams completed 6 of 13 passes for 75 yards against Cincinnati’s backup, including a 45-yard pass to fellow rookie Rome Odunze, and ran for a 7-yard touchdown late in the second quarter.

Odunze, the No. 9 overall pick, also had a 16-yard run on an end-around that set up a field goal. Khalil Herbert ran five times for 31 yards.

Logan Woodside started at quarterback for Cincinnati with Bengals Joe Burrow and backup Jake Browning sidelined with a rib injury. He completed 17 of 25 passes for 132 yards and two interceptions before Rocky Lombardi took over late in the third quarter.

RAVENS 13, HAWKS 12

BALTIMORE – Josh Johnson completed all 11 of his pass attempts and Emory Jones threw a long touchdown in the second half to help Baltimore beat Atlanta.

The Falcons scored with 36 seconds left on a 3-yard run by Jase McClellan, but McClellan was stopped on a two-point conversion by Tavius ​​Robinson. Atlanta did not attempt another onside kick after that.

Lamar Jackson and Kirk Cousins, the best quarterbacks on both teams, did not play. Atlanta’s rookie Michael Penix Jr. was also absent.

Johnson and Jones scored the game’s only two touchdowns on passes, and Jones recovered a fumble that led to the game-winning field goal in Baltimore’s loss to Philadelphia last week.

While Cousins ​​and Penix stayed out of danger, Taylor Heinicke was the starter for Atlanta and completed 8 of 16 passes for 114 yards.

VIKINGS 27, BROWNS 12

CLEVELAND — Nick Mullens threw a touchdown pass shortly after Minnesota’s quarterback rotation was thrown into disarray by JJ McCarty’s season-ending injury this week and the Vikings beat Cleveland.

Mullens and wide receiver Trishton Jackson scored a 14-yard touchdown for the Vikings (2-0) in the first quarter.

Minnesota’s third-string quarterback Jaren Hall threw two passes in the second half, the second a 71-yard pass to wide receiver Jeshaun Jones. Rookie Will Reichard kicked field goals of 41 and 38 yards for Minnesota.

D’Onta Foreman scored a 1-yard touchdown and Cade York kicked a 33-yard field goal for the Browns (0-2).

Minnesota coaches Kevin O’Connell and Cleveland coach Kevin Stefanski decided to bench their starters and most of their substitutes because they felt they had gotten enough work done during the teams’ two practices this week.

Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson spent his second straight game on the bench. He is scheduled to play next week at Seattle, his first start since a season-ending shoulder injury in November. No. 2 Jameis Winston also sat out.

TEXANS 28, GIANTS 10

HOUSTON – New York’s Daniel Jones, in his first game since a season-ending knee injury last year, threw two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown, and Houston beat the Giants.

Jones tore an ACL in his right knee on Nov. 5 and had recovered by the start of training camp, but did not play in New York’s season opener against Detroit last week. He played until halftime on Saturday and completed 11 of 18 passes for 138 yards.

Houston’s CJ Stroud threw two series in one quarter for 88 yards last week in his preseason debut. The Texans didn’t score on his first drive, and he was substituted for Case Keenum in the middle of the next drive early in the second quarter.

Jones was under a lot of pressure on his second drive in the end zone when he threw a desperation pass that was intercepted by Jalen Pitre and returned 5 yards for a touchdown to make it 7-0.

The Giants were on the rise on the next possession when Jones attempted a long throw to Jalin Hyatt, but Derek Stingley dove in his path near the end zone and intercepted another ball.

Jones moved the ball more effectively after that with most of Houston’s starters on the bench, leading a 63-yard run capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Devin Singletary to tie the score early in the second quarter.

John Metchie was the Texans’ best player with six catches for 68 yards. Metchie, who is entering his second season after sitting out his rookie year because of cancer treatment, caught a 3-yard touchdown from Case Keenum in the second inning to make it 14-7.