Bucs head to KC trying to spoil Chiefs' pursuit of franchise-record 14th straight win Monday night

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs have reached the point where they seem to be making history just about every week.

Patrick Mahomes becoming the fastest player in NFL history to throw for 30,000 yards in last week's win over Las Vegas. Travis Kelce sitting one touchdown reception short of passing Tony Gonzalez for the franchise record.

Here's another one: The Chiefs, at 7-0 the last unbeaten team in the league, can set another club record Monday night against Tampa Bay by winning their 14th consecutive game going back to last season. It's a string of excellence that encompasses their run to a second straight Super Bowl title, and the longest in the NFL since they also won 13 in a row during the 2019-20 seasons.

“Guys have accepted the challenge,” Mahomes said, “and that's why we've been able to win these games we've won.”

The most remarkable thing about the winning streak is the Chiefs have not played particularly well, at least on offense, where they have lost their top two wide receivers and starting running back to what are likely season-ending injuries.

It's helped that running back Kareem Hunt, who was sitting at home as a free agent when Kansas City called, has rejoined his old team and been effective on the ground. And that the trade last week for DeAndre Hopkins already appears to be paying dividends, even though the three-time All-Pro wide receiver has had only a handful of practices with his new team.

“They know how to win,” Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles said. "They’ve been through it many times. They know how to win close games. They know how to win blowouts. So you’re going to have to play a heck of a ball game to beat them.”

The Buccaneers (4-4) have shown they can win close games, too. And lose them. They started the season 3-1 while handing the Lions their only loss through the first eight weeks of the season. But they followed by losing three of their past four, including a 31-26 loss to the Falcons last week.

Baker Mayfield has been playing well, but he'll be without injured wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin on Monday night.

“Their offense is very efficient. Their quarterback is playing great, and he lost two of his guys and he keeps rolling,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “They've got a real good offense, and they use all of them.”

Tampa Bay has struggled for the second straight year after a hot start. But players say there’s no panic, especially after they lost six of seven after a fast start in 2023, only to rebound by winning five of six and earning a third straight division title.

“The guys that were here, we know how we did it," Mayfield said. "It’s doing the little things right, not beating yourselves. We have the mental makeup to overcome anything, and I truly believe that. I believe that’s the group that we have.”

While the Buccaneers have evolved into a potent offensive team, ranking fourth in yards and scoring, it seems to have come at the expense of the defense, which has been on a decline since Bowles was hired as the coordinator five years ago.

“It’s frustrating because we’re making mistakes, beating ourselves. That’s the part we have to clean up,” said Bowles, whose defense has allowed at least 31 points in three of the past four games — all losses. “We can’t play ourselves plus the opponent.”

The Buccaneers and Chiefs have only met 15 times since Tampa Bay joined the NFL as an expansion team in 1976. And while the Chiefs have won two of the past three, Tampa Bay won the one that counted most: Tom Brady led the Buccaneers to a 31-9 rout in the Super Bowl on Feb. 7, 2021, which happened to be played on their home field.

Despite having just two practices last week, Hopkins was on the field for about a third of the Chiefs' offensive plays, and caught two passes for 29 yards. Now, with another week-plus to learn the offense, he figures to have a much bigger role Monday night.

“Hitting him over that medium-to-long range is going to open up the guys down the field, and take pressure off other guys in terms of eyes and coverage,” Mahomes said. “Teams have to account for that.”

The Chiefs landed some pass rush help this week by trading a sixth-round pick in 2026 to New England for Josh Uche, a 2020 second-round pick of the Patriots. He has 20 1/2 sacks over parts of five seasons, including two through the first seven games of this season. His best year was in 2022, when Uche had 11 1/2 sacks and forced two fumbles in 15 games.

“I remember playing in Kansas City last year and we had to bring our A-game,” Uche said. “There's so many different threats and weapons on the team that you have to prepare for.”

AP Sports Writer Fred Goodall in Tampa, Florida, contributed.

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Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy (1) scores past Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Jack Jones (18) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) throws during the second half of an NFL football game against the Las Vegas Raiders Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy (1) celebrates with center Creed Humphrey (52) after scoring a touchdown against the Las Vegas Raiders during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle C.J. Brewer (95) celebrates a sack on Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Tampa. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Tyrek Funderburk (24) hits Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson (7) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Tampa. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) runs out of the pocket for a first down against the Atlanta Falcons during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Tampa. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A Washington state man who authorities said killed at least 118 eagles as part of a wildlife trafficking ring that operated on a Native American reservation in Montana was sentenced Thursday to three years and 10 months in prison and must pay more than $777,000 in restitution.

The trafficking ring over more than a decade sold eagle feathers and parts on a black market that exploits high demand among tribal members who use them in powwows and other ceremonies. The defendant and others killed at least 107 hawks and as many as 3,600 birds overall, prosecutors said.

The poaching operation centered on the Flathead Indian Reservation in northwestern Montana, which researchers say has some of the highest concentrations of eagles and other birds of prey in the U.S.

Travis John Branson of Cusick, Washington, pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy and wildlife trafficking charges.

Prior to being sentenced, Branson apologized to the court and his family.

“It’s my own fault,” he said. “I know what I did was wrong.”

He declined to comment further after the hearing.

A second person has been indicted in the case and prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office have said others were also involved.

Prosecutors had asked U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen in Missoula to impose a “significant” prison sentence and order Branson to pay restitution of $5,000 for each eagle killed and $1,750 for each hawk.

Branson faced up to five years in prison on the conspiracy charge. But his public defender asked for a sentence of probation and claimed that prosecutors overstated the number of birds killed.

Federal Defender Andrew Nelson also disputed the restitution amount, saying it was too high for the eagles and the hawks should not be counted.

Branson had no prior criminal history, according to Nelson. Because of the criminal charges, he lost his job as a maintenance supervisor for the Kalispell Tribe in Washington, Nelson said, and the defendant suffered a stroke in April.

The criminal case underscores the persistence of a thriving illegal trade in eagle feathers despite law enforcement efforts over the past decade that netted dozens of criminal indictments across the U.S. West and Midwest.

Bald eagles, once highly imperiled by the pesticide DDT, have bounced back in recent decades and are now abundant. The recovery of golden eagles has been more tenuous and researchers have warned that the population is on the brink of decline due to shootings, poisonings, electrocutions on power lines, collisions with wind turbines and other threats.

It’s illegal to buy or sell eagle feathers or other parts. The government has sought to offset strong demand for feathers among Native Americans by providing them for free from a government repository. But they’re unable to keep up with demand and the repository has a yearslong backlog.

Branson made between $180,000 and $360,000 from 2009 to 2021 selling bald and golden eagle parts illegally, court records said.

Court documents quote Branson as saying in a January 2021 text that he was going on a “killing spree” to obtain eagle tails.

“It was not uncommon for Branson to take upwards of nine eagles at a time,” prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Montana wrote in a court filing. “Not only did Branson kill eagles, but he hacked them into pieces to sell for future profits.”

The second defendant, Simon Paul, of St. Ignatius, Montana, remains at large. A federal judge issued an arrest warrant for Paul in December after he failed to show up for an initial court hearing. Court documents have suggested he fled to Canada.

Federally recognized tribes can apply for permits with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to take a bald or golden eagle for religious purposes. Enrolled tribal members can apply for feathers and other bird parts from the National Eagle Repository in Colorado and non-government repositories in Oklahoma and Arizona.

The exterior of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's National Eagle Repository is seen in Commerce City, Colo., on March 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)

Eagle feathers adorn a headdress during a powwow in Montana, on April 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)

FILE - An adult golden eagle circles overhead in a remote area of Box Elder County, Utah, May 20, 2021. (Spenser Heaps/The Deseret News via AP, File)

Man who killed eagles and trafficked their parts faces sentencing Thursday

Man who killed eagles and trafficked their parts faces sentencing Thursday

FILE - This undated photo from a court document provided by the U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana shows golden eagle feet recovered by law enforcement officers from a Washington state man's vehicle. (Courtesy of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana via AP, File)