Football is a game of numbers, but sometimes the numbers just don't make sense. Before September 21, 2025, if you looked at the history of the Giants vs Kansas City, you’d see a statistical anomaly that looked like a typo. Despite the Chiefs being a modern dynasty with Patrick Mahomes at the helm, they simply could not win in New York.
Seriously. Zero wins.
Going into their Week 3 matchup in the 2025 season, the Chiefs were 0-7 all-time on the Giants' home turf. It’s one of those weird sports quirks that makes betting on the NFL feel like a fever dream. Kansas City had the rings, the MVP, and the offensive genius of Andy Reid, yet MetLife Stadium (and Giants Stadium before it) acted like kryptonite for the guys in red.
Breaking the 0-7 Streak at MetLife
That streak is finally dead. On a Sunday night in September 2025, Kansas City ground out a 22-9 victory that was much uglier than the final score suggests. It wasn't a Mahomes highlight reel of no-look passes and 60-yard bombs. Instead, it was a gritty, defensive struggle where Harrison Butker’s leg did most of the heavy lifting.
Kansas City entered that game at 0-2. Imagine that—the defending champs staring down the barrel of an 0-3 start. The pressure was massive. Meanwhile, the Giants were also 0-2, debuting their new-look offense with Russell Wilson under center after a chaotic offseason.
The game itself was a defensive slog.
Mahomes finished with a modest stat line, completing 29 of 48 passes for 245 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. But the real story was the Giants' inability to finish drives. They kept moving the ball with Malik Nabers—who is clearly the real deal—but they couldn't find the end zone.
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The Giants' only touchdown came from a Cam Skattebo run, but a missed extra point by Jamie Gillan (serving as an emergency kicker) epitomized the night for Big Blue. By the time Kareem Hunt punched in a late touchdown for the Chiefs, the "New York Curse" was effectively over.
The Historical Weirdness of Giants vs Kansas City
To understand why this game mattered so much, you have to look at the lopsided history. Before the 2025 clash, the Giants actually led the head-to-head series 11-4. That is an absurd winning percentage against a franchise as successful as Kansas City.
Historically, the Giants have just had the Chiefs' number. Whether it was the 1980s defense stifling them or weird overtime wins in the 2000s, New York always found a way.
- 1984: Phil Simms leads a 28-27 nail-biter.
- 2005: Tiki Barber rushes for 220 yards and two scores in a 27-17 Giants win.
- 2017: A struggling Giants team somehow upsets a playoff-bound Chiefs squad 12-9 in a wind-swept Meadowlands game.
Most fans remember the 2021 meeting, which was the last time these two met before the 2025 season. Mahomes struggled then, too, throwing for just 245 yards and an interception in a narrow 20-17 win at Arrowhead. There’s something about the way the Giants play—or perhaps the way they used to play—that forces the Chiefs into a phone-booth fight.
Mahomes vs. The Giants' Defense
The 2025 matchup highlighted a tactical shift. In previous years, teams tried to beat the Chiefs by outscoring them. The Giants, under Brian Daboll, took a different approach. They used Dexter Lawrence to wreck the interior of the Chiefs' offensive line and dared Mahomes to beat them with short, methodical passes.
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It worked, for a while. Mahomes was sacked twice and looked frustrated for most of the first half. But the Giants' offense, led by Russell Wilson in the twilight of his career, couldn't capitalize. Wilson went 18 of 32 for a mere 160 yards and two picks.
The MetLife crowd even started chanting "We want Dart!"—referring to rookie sensation Jaxson Dart—by the fourth quarter. It was a grim night for New York fans who thought a veteran QB was the missing piece.
Key Players Who Defined the Matchup
If you're looking at why the 2025 game went the way it did, it comes down to three names you might not expect to be the headliners.
1. Harrison Butker
He was the MVP of the game. He nailed three field goals, including a crucial 50-plus yarder that took the air out of the stadium. When Mahomes is human, Butker is the safety net.
2. Malik Nabers
Even in a losing effort, Nabers proved he's the future of the Giants. He was the only person on the field who looked like he could outrun the Chiefs' secondary. He finished with nearly 100 yards of total offense, mostly on contested catches where Wilson just threw it up and prayed.
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3. Leo Chenal
The Chiefs' linebacker was everywhere. He blew up a crucial fourth-down attempt by Wilson late in the fourth quarter that basically ended the game. Kansas City's defense has quietly become the backbone of the team while the offense finds its rhythm.
What This Means for Future Matchups
The dynamic of Giants vs Kansas City has shifted. The historical "home field advantage" for the Giants seems to have evaporated along with their offensive consistency. For the Chiefs, this win was a turning point. They avoided the 0-3 death knell and went on to stabilize their season.
For the Giants, it was a wake-up call. The Russell Wilson experiment started to show cracks early, and the pressure to transition to the Jaxson Dart era became a roar after this game.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Bettors
If these two teams appear on the schedule again soon, here’s how you should look at the matchup based on the latest data:
- Ignore the "Home Underdog" Myth: The streak is broken. Don't bet the Giants just because "the Chiefs never win in NY." That era is over.
- Watch the Total: This matchup consistently trends toward the "Under." Both teams tend to play more conservatively against each other, leading to lower-scoring, defensive games.
- Prop Bets on Nabers: Until the Giants find a consistent second option, Malik Nabers will see 10+ targets a game. He is a volume monster regardless of who is throwing the ball.
- The "Mahomes Struggle" is Relative: Even on his "bad" days against New York, Mahomes protects the ball better than most. Don't expect a turnover fest from the KC side.
The 2025 meeting proved that while history is fun to talk about, it doesn't tackle anyone on the field. The Chiefs are no longer haunted by the ghosts of the Meadowlands, and the Giants are officially in a period of soul-searching as they figure out their identity in a post-streak world.