Joe Thuney helps Chiefs bully 49ers up front as Tom Brady’s LFG Player of the Game

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — A teammate for four seasons with the New England Patriots, Kansas City Chiefs offensive guard Joe Thuney acknowledged that could have had something to do with him winning the Tom Bradys LFG Player of the Game.

“There might be a slight bias in that,” joked Thuney in a conversation with FOX Sports following Kansas City’s 28-18 win over the San Francisco 49ers. “It’s very humbling. Obviously, there’s a lot of things I can do better. You know, I think all the guys on the O-line deserve it. I’m just proud to be part of this group.” 

Of course, Thuney’s play up front certainly was a consideration as well. A two-time Pro Bowler, Thuney was part of a driving force behind Kansas City rushing for 184 yards on Sunday, led by Kareem Hunt’s 78 yards and two scores. 

[Related: Do the Chiefs have 49ers’ number, and can they keep winning this way? Tom Brady weighs in]

“Kareem’s awesome,” Thuney said. “He runs so hard and plays so hard. And he’s always working throughout the week, digging into his playbook. He’s just a great guy.”

Said Hunt: “I give it up to the O-line for helping me get the pushes to get in there.” 

The Chiefs controlled the line of scrimmage up front on offense, finishing with four rushing touchdowns. Kansas City owned a 35:04-24:56 advantage in time of possession, as the Chiefs controlled the clock.

“As an offensive lineman, you always take pride in running the ball, especially when the defense knows you’re going to run it,” Thuney said. “We had wide receivers blocking, tight ends blocking and running backs running hard and Pat (Mahomes) making great calls. 

So, it was a total team effort, all 11 guys on offense. I’m just really happy with how everything went.”

Kansas City’s defense also played stingy up front. The Chiefs intercepted San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy three times, holding the offense to 2 of 11 on third down and one of the league’s top rushing offenses to 101 rushing yards.

But linebacker Drue Tranquill also pointed to the offensive line as a group that sets the tone for the entire team.

“It’s huge,” Tranquill told FOX Sports. “There’s 10 minutes left there in the fourth quarter, and they drive it all the way down, I think they converted like four or five first downs and took a bunch of time off the clock, and the Mecole (Hardman) gets in the end zone.

“We talk about pounding the rock. When you have those big guys up front, led by Creed (center Creed Humphrey) in the middle, those three interior guys can really get a push (in the run game).”

While Thuney and the offensive line played winning football, quarterback Patrick Mahomes continues to struggle statistically until the game matters most. Mahomes was a forgettable 16 of 27 for 154 yards with no touchdown passes and two interceptions for a 44.4 passer rating.

Mahomes is now tied for the league lead in interceptions with eight, and has more interceptions than touchdown passes (6). But when Kansas City needed to take over the game, Mahomes manufactured a memorable, 33-yard scramble that put Kansas City near the goal line.

He then capped the drive with a 1-yard run down the middle of San Francisco’s defense, running over a thumper at safety in rookie Malik Mustapha. 

The touchdown gave Kansas City a 21-12 lead with 14:13 left to play, a deficit the 49ers could not overcome. 

“I actually was not trying to lower my shoulder,” Mahomes said. “I was trying to absorb the hit because I knew I was going to be right there in the end zone. And that ‘Dad Bod’ man, I had enough weight on me where he went down.” 

Added Tranquill: “We know Pat’s got the sauce, man. So, it was cool seeing him scamper down the sideline. But the one that jumped out to me was the one on the goal line. You can’t underestimate his toughness. Watching him run over that cat (Mustapha), I mean that cat had two or three big hits. He’s a dog. And then Pat just runs him over. I think that speaks to the toughness of our team.” 

Thuney has come to expect those types of plays for Mahomes.

“He’ll do anything to make a play,” Thuney said. “He’s special in that way. It’s awesome seeing what he can do. And I’m just trying to do my job as best I can, whenever I can.”

As for the Chiefs, even though they are the only undefeated team in the league at 6-0, Thuney knows there’s still work to do if Kansas City wants to finish the season holding the Lombardi Trophy for an unprecedented third straight time. 

“Every week we try to look at film to improve, see what we can do better,” Thuney said. “It’s a constant process. We’ll look at this one and see what we can improve on. Hopefully, we can do that.”

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.

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