FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Tom Brady needed everything he had to fend off Patrick Mahomes — including his legs.

Stephen Gostkowski hit a 28-yard field goal as time expired , and the New England Patriots beat the Kansas City Chiefs 43-40 on Sunday night after blowing a big halftime lead.

Brady passed for 340 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score, diving head-first between two defenders in a rare run by the 41-year-old quarterback.

“I got close to the goal line and I just figured I’d try to get it in,” Brady said of his late TD plunge. “We needed it.”

New England’s third straight win was Brady’s 200th victory as a starting QB, tops all-time. He also passed former teammate Adam Vinatieri for most career wins in the regular season and playoffs combined with 227.

Brady got some help from rookie Sony Michel, who rushed 24 times for 106 yards and two touchdowns in another solid performance.

“It’s tough to slow those guys down, they’ve been scoring a lot of points all year,” Brady said. “They’re gonna be pretty tough to stop. Glad we had our last shot and glad we took advantage of it.”

It was the first loss of the season for the Chiefs (5-1), who were again let down by a defense that came in allowing an NFL-worst 462 yards per game.

New England (4-2) led 24-9 at intermission, but Mahomes directed an impressive rally for Kansas City. He finished 23 of 36 for 352 yards in his first loss as a starting quarterback, with three of his four TD passes going to Tyreek Hill.

Mahomes threw two interceptions in the first half but was unflappable down the stretch. He found Hill for a 1-yard TD pass that made it 33-30 Kansas City with 8:38 left. With the Chiefs trailing 40-33, he connected with Hill again for a 75-yard score that tied the game with just over three minutes remaining.

“The last two weeks it seems like we just can’t punch it in there and I feel like the second half we finally started getting it in the end zone,” Mahomes said.

Brady used a 16-yard pass to James White and a 39-yard completion to Rob Gronkowski to get New England into field-goal range.

After electrifying the NFL during the first five weeks of the season with his freewheeling style and big arm, Mahomes looked unsure of himself early on.

He was able to complete some long passes to get the Chiefs into the red zone. But he turned the ball over twice in the first half and the high-scoring Chiefs were held to three field goals.

Everything changed in the second half.

First, Mahomes broke through with a 67-yard touchdown pass to Kareem Hunt . That was followed by a 14-yard TD strike to Hill that came on the heels of a fumble by Brady, helping trim New England’s lead to 27-26 entering the fourth quarter.

A 39-yard field goal by Gostkowski stretched New England’s lead to 30-26.

But Kansas City kept coming.

Tremon Smith took the ensuing kickoff 97 yards down the sideline to the Patriots 3, setting up Hill’s go-ahead TD.

The Patriots responded, using 42-yard pass from Brady to Chris Hogan to help set up a 4-yard touchdown run by Brady that put the Patriots back in front.

Then, after forcing Kansas City into the first punt by either team on the night, Brady got the Patriots some breathing room when he hit Gronkowski for a 42-yard gain. The play set up 50-yard field goal by Gostkowski.

The Chiefs also started 5-0 last season before losing six of their last 11 and falling in the wild-card round of the playoffs.

But coach Andy Reid said he is confident his team has room to grow.

“We will learn a lot from this game,” he said. “We kind of shot ourselves in the foot a little bit early and you can’t do that against a good football team.”

FIRST STRIKE

The Chiefs extended their streak for scoring on their first possession in every game this season.

Harrison Butker connected on a 42-yard field goal with 9:05 left in the first quarter, capping an eight-play, 35-yard drive that began after the Patriots turned it over on downs.

PICKING IT OFF

The Patriots now have at least one interception in each of their first six games of the season. New England’s last streak of six consecutive games with an INT was in 2013.

EDELMAN ENDS DROUGHT

New England’s Julian Edelman caught a 17-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter , his first since January 22, 2017, in the AFC championship game against the Steelers

In those 630 days, including the playoffs, Brady threw 54 touchdown passes to 11 different players.

Edelman sat out the entire 2017 season after suffering a preseason knee injury. He missed the first four games this season while serving a suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on performance enhancers.

INJURIES

Chiefs: C Mitch Morse was evaluated for concussion in the second quarter and did not return.

Patriots: Right tackle Marcus Cannon left in the second half with a head injury and did not return.

UP NEXT

The Chiefs return home to host Cincinnati.

The Patriots go on the road for the third time this season when they visit the Bears.

DENVER (AP) — Not the wintry weather nor the Denver Broncos’ spongy defense could slow down Todd Gurley .

The Rams running back rumbled for a career-high 208 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries and Los Angeles celebrated defensive coordinator Wade Phillips’ homecoming Sunday with a 23-20 win over the reeling Denver Broncos.

“I wouldn’t be able to do it without those guys up front,” said Gurley, whose previous high was 159 yards at Green Bay in 2015. “It was kind of easy for me, honestly, because those guys did such a great job.”

And Denver’s defense succumbed again.

A week after allowing 323 yards rushing in a loss to the Jets, including 219 by Isaiah Crowell, the Broncos were gashed for 270 yards on the ground.

“We knew we were going to be a little bit leaky in the run today because the pass was our focus,” Von Miller said. “But 270 yards is just, you know, ridiculous.”

“We didn’t tackle well. We didn’t fit well,” Broncos coach Vance Joseph said. “That’s two weeks in a row — unacceptable.”

The Rams, who had surrendered 31 points in back-to-back games, improved to 6-0 in sending the Broncos (2-4) to their fourth straight loss.

The Broncos pulled to 23-20 on Case Keenum’s 1-yard dart to Demaryius Thomas with 1:22 remaining, but Rams receiver Robert Woods knocked Brandon McManus’ onside kick out of bounds, and the Rams ran out the clock with Keenum’s one-time understudy Jared Goff (14 of 28 for 201 yards on his 24th birthday) twice taking a knee.

Phillips was the Broncos’ beloved bandmaster when they were celebrating their Super Bowl 50 triumph, but his contract wasn’t renewed after the 2016 season and he joined Sean McVay in sunny Southern California.

After an overnight snowstorm, the game-time temperature of 25 degrees marked the second-coldest in Denver prior to November in franchise history.

The cold did nothing to slow down Gurley, who scored his 10th and 11th touchdowns of the season.

One was on a 10-yard run on fourth down that gave the Rams a 13-3 halftime lead, the other, a 1-yard run that made it 20-3.

COSTLY FOUL

Gurley’s first score came after a boneheaded move by Broncos receiver Emmanuel Sanders, who thought he had a 44-yard TD catch and jabbed a finger in cornerback Troy Hill’s face, drawing a taunting foul.

Upon review, Sanders was ruled down at the 1, and the unsportsmanlike 15-yard penalty pushed the Broncos back to the 16.

Instead of an extra point to give Denver a 7-6 lead, McManus ended up kicking a 28-yard field goal.

Sanders, who had a 22-yard TD catch in the second half, blamed himself for the loss.

“Me, honestly, I feel like the league is getting soft,” Sanders said. “I’m having fun. I didn’t do anything crazy to the guy besides say, ‘Hey, I got you on that play.’ I pointed my finger at him. And they threw the flag.”

He said he’s done that his whole career.

“It was a great throw by Case. I came down with it. Emotions are high. It’s not like I walked up to him and head-butted him or something,” Sanders said. “But it cost my team. We lost by three points. I feel like we could have easily punched that ball in and gotten four (more). I guess this loss is on me.”

STILL THE SAME

Joseph promised changes this week but those alterations were either cosmetic or schematic — and, ultimately, fruitless.

Max Garcia replaced right guard Connor McGovern, but McGovern rotated back in and Garcia moved over when left guard Ronald Leary (ankle) got hurt in the third quarter.

If the Broncos had better options, scuffling cornerback Bradley Roby — who again gave up big plays — and left tackle Garett Bolles — who was flagged for his NFL-high sixth holding call Sunday — also might have been benched.

Bolles and Garcia had holding calls that pushed Denver out of scoring range.

Roby took over Aqib Talib’s starting spot when the Broncos traded Talib to the Rams in the spring. Talib is sidelined by an ankle injury.

Still, Talib made the trip with his teammates, walking with a boot on his left foot and a crutch under his right arm and was on the sideline during warmups.

SACK ATTACK

Miller snapped a three-week sackless streak with 1 1-2 sacks and rookie Bradley Chubb had three sacks.

“It’s good that I get to the quarterback three times, but it’s not good enough,” Chubb said.

QUICK FIX?

The Broncos have a short week before going to Arizona on Thursday.

“So, we can’t get caught up on this game, as much as I want to,” Miller said. “I hate losing more than I love winning. … The only good thing about this is we’re back in the lab tomorrow and we’ve got a game on Thursday.”

INJURIES

Rams WR Cooper Kupp was carted off the field after wrenching his left knee when Broncos S Darian Stewart horse-collared him on the Broncos sideline after a 12-yard jet sweep in the second quarter, but he made a surprising return in the second half. OLB Matt Longacre (back) and LT Andrew Whitworth (possible concussion) also left the game.

Broncos S Dymonte Thomas (chest) and Leary got hurt and didn’t return.

UP NEXT:

Rams: Wrap up three-game road swing with a visit to San Francisco.

Broncos: Have a short week to get ready for a game at Arizona on Thursday night.

SMITH CENTER – The Smith Center Lady Red claimed the MCL Volleyball Tournament crown Saturday on their home floor.

After going 2-0 on Thursday, the first day of pool play the Lady Red added two more wins on Saturday to win pool 1 with a 4-0 record. Norton finished second in pool 1 with a record of 3-1. Their only loss was to Smith Center.

As the top two finishers in pool they advanced to the semifinals.

Phillipsburg won pool 2 with a record of 4-0 and Trego finished 3-1 with their only loss against Phillipsburg. They also advanced to the semifinals.

In the first semifinal matchup Smith Center swept Trego in two winning 25-14 and 25-17. Phillipsburg also advanced to the finals with a sweep of Norton winning 25-21 and 25-22.

Smith Center went on to claim the championship with a sweep of Phillipsburg, winning 25-19 and 25-16.

Trego beat Norton in three sets to finish 3rd.

TMP went 2-2 in pool play. The Monarchs finished 1-1 in pool play on Thursday and then lost to Trego 25-21 and 25-22 in their first match Saturday. In their final match they swept Oakley winning 25-23 and 25-7.

Sub-state volleyball for classes 3,2 and 1A will be Saturday, Oct. 20th. The brackets and seedings for each substate location will be released on Wednesday.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State broke huddle against Oklahoma State at one point Saturday with three running backs joining quarterback Skyler Thompson in the backfield, the quartet making a unique diamond-like formation that coach Bill Snyder said has been part of the playbook for 30 years.

True or not, the claim was fitting given the Wildcats’ entire game plan looked about that old.

Almost entirely abandoning the passing game, Kansas State bludgeoned the Cowboys with an old-school, ground-based attack. Alex Barnes rumbled for 181 yards and four touchdowns, the Wildcats piled up 291 yards rushing and they dominated the time of possession in a 31-12 rout.

“Our running game, we’ve addressed this week-in and week-out, it’s gotten better, gotten better, gotten better,” Snyder said. “Alex got a lot of yards but you get a lot of yards because someone up front is knocking someone else back. It’s a team-oriented deal.”

Thompson only had 130 yards passing, enough to keep the Cowboys honest, but added 80 yards to the rushing total in helping the Wildcats (3-4, 1-3 Big 12) end a three-game skid.

They’ve now beaten the Cowboys (4-3, 1-3) in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2002.

“We have to look and see what we’re doing, where we are at and what we can do to correct it,” Cowboys coach Mike Gundy said. “We are trying to do what we can as soon as possible to fix the problems.”

Oklahoma State led 6-3 at halftime before the Wildcats got their ground game going. They leaned heavily on Barnes, who ran for a career-best 250 yards last week against Baylor, and that allowed them to chew up the clock while keeping the Cowboys’ offense off the field.

Kansas State took the lead when Barnes capped a nine-play drive with a touchdown midway through the third quarter. He added his second scoring run a few minutes later, then answered a TD run by the Cowboys’ Taylor Cornelius with his third touchdown dart with 9:41 remaining in the game.

Cornelius finished 17 of 35 for 184 yards and two interceptions, while Cowboys running back Justice Hill spent most of afternoon bottled up. He carried 11 times for just 41 yards.

“We were tired of losing,” Kansas State linebacker Justin Hughes said, “so we came out with the mentality that we weren’t going to lose. Once we stopped Hill and made them throw we had them.”

The first half resembled an old-school, Big Ten-style slugfest — hardly the pass-happy Big 12.

The Wildcats dared the Cowboys to beat them through the air, and Cornelius had 45 of his 97 yards passing in the first half on the only completion that made them pay. But despite that long play getting the Cowboys in scoring position, Kansas State’s defense managed to hold for a field goal.

The Wildcats squandered a chance to score just before halftime, when Thompson was sacked on third down in the closing seconds. Without a time out, the clock expired without a field-goal attempt, and Snyder stalked his team all the way into the locker room.

Kansas State’s offensive line atoned for that mistake in the second half.

Asserting its will at the line of scrimmage, the group pried open holes for Barnes and backup Dalvin Warmack, who patiently danced into the Cowboys’ secondary. They kept riding that success late into the fourth quarter, when Barnes scored his final touchdown with a couple minutes to go.

“That’s what we’ve been expecting all season,” Wildcats offensive lineman Dalton Risner said. “I feel like we’ve been bringing it all season but we’ve turned it up the last few weeks.”

THE TAKEAWAY

Oklahoma State: An offense that averaged 523.3 yards per game coming into the day was rendered ineffective in the second half. Hill’s streak of 12 consecutive games with a touchdown rushing came to an end, as did the Cowboys’ impressive streak of 19 straight wins when leading at halftime.

Kansas State: The season-long search for an identity may have uncovered a smash-mouth approach that can produce results. The Wildcats were held to six points a few weeks ago at West Virginia, and two TDs in a loss to Texas. But their run-based attack has been on-point against Baylor and Oklahoma State.

STATS AND STREAKS

Oklahoma States’ streak of forcing a turnover in 33 straight games was snapped. … Barnes moved into the top 10 in Kansas State history with 2,049 yards rushing. He’s the first player with back-to-back games of at least 175 yards rushing since Darren Sproles in 2003. … Wildcats cornerback Duke Shelley had both of the interceptions. He has at least one in all three games he’s played against Oklahoma State.

UP NEXT

Oklahoma State is off before hosting ninth-ranked Texas.

Kansas State is off before visiting No. 11 Oklahoma.

Listen as the ‘Voice of the Chiefs’ Mitch Holthus recaps last week’s home win over Jacksonville and previews Sunday’s night’s prime time matchup in New England.

The Holthus Hotline airs Saturday mornings on your home for Chiefs football, KFIX (96.9-FM), at 8 a.m. during the Chiefs season.