After two straight wins on final play, unbeaten Chiefs take on revitalized Falcons

Kansas City (2-0) at Atlanta (1-1)

Sunday, 8:20 p.m. EDT, NBC

BetMGM NFL Odds: Chiefs by 3 1/2

Series record: Chiefs lead 7-3.

Against the spread: Falcons 1-1, Chiefs 1-1.

Last meeting: Chiefs defeated Falcons 17-14 at Kansas City on Dec. 27, 2020.

Last week: Chiefs defeated the Bengals 26-25; Falcons defeated the Eagles 22-21.

Chiefs offense: overall (15), rush (19), pass (14), scoring (6).

Chiefs defense: overall (29), rush (17), pass (31), scoring (19-T).

Falcons offense: overall (18), rush (17), pass (20), scoring (25).

Falcons defense: overall (11), rush (27), pass (7), scoring (10-T).

Turnover differential: Chiefs minus-2, Falcons minus-2

RBs Carson Steele and Samaje Perine are expected to get most of the work in the backfield after Isiah Pacheco hurt his ankle in the final minute of a win over Cincinnati. Steele is an undrafted rookie who turned heads in training camp with his run-through-a-wall style. The Chiefs were planning to use him mostly in short-yardage situations. Perine signed with the Chiefs on Aug. 30 and has been trying to pick up the playbook quickly. He is at his best catching the ball out of the backfield.

FS Jessie Bates III is coming off a huge performance in a 22-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles this past Monday night. He broke up what appeared to be a touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith and sealed the victory with an interception in the closing seconds. Bates also contributed a team-high 12 tackles, including one behind the line, earning NFC defensive players of the week honors. For the season, he has been credited with 18 tackles — 13 of them solo efforts.

QB Kirk Cousins vs. Chiefs secondary. Cousins completed five of six passes for 70 yards on the final drive, including a 7-yard touchdown to Drake London with 34 seconds remaining, to lead the Falcons to their improbable victory in Philadelphia. He should be overflowing with confidence as he faces a Kansas City defense that has allowed huge chunks of yardage the first two weeks against star quarterbacks Lamar Jackson of the Ravens and Joe Burrow of the Bengals. The Chiefs rank next-to-last out of 32 teams, giving up an average of 256.5 yards per game.

The Chiefs lost Pacheco to an ankle injury, one week after putting WR Marquise Brown on injured reserve because of shoulder surgery. The Falcons are relatively healthy, though LB Nate Landman did go injured reserve before last week's game at Philadelphia with calf and quad issues. That left Atlanta with only three inside backers — Kaden Elliss, Troy Anderson and rookie JD Bertrand — on the active roster.

The teams have only met 10 times with the Chiefs winning seven of them, including the past two. ... In their most recent game, Patrick Mahomes threw for 278 yards and two touchdowns, and Travis Kelce had a big game as the Chiefs won 17-14 on Dec. 27, 2020. Younghoe Koo missed a 39-yard field-goal attempt that would have sent the game to overtime. ... Atlanta's most recent victory over the Chiefs was a 40-24 triumph on Sept. 9, 2012, in Kansas City.

Both of the Chiefs’ wins this season have been decided on the final play of the game. Ravens TE Isaiah Likely landed out of bounds on a would-be tying TD catch in Week 1, and Harrison Butker kicked a winning 51-yard field goal last week against the Bengals after the winning drive was extended by a pass interference call on fourth down. ... Cousins was the first NFL quarterback in the past 30 years to complete at least 80% of his passes while throwing for at least 70 yards on a drive that began on the road in the last two minutes with his team needing a touchdown to erase a deficit, according to OptaSTATS. ... Chiefs OT Wanya Morris caught a TD pass last week against Cincinnati. OT Eric Fisher caught a TD pass in 2020 and did the same for Kansas City in a playoff game against Pittsburgh in 2022. ... Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier combined for 150 yards on 23 carries against the Eagles. Overall, the Falcons averaged 5.4 yards per carry. ... Kansas City WR Rashee Rice has 12 catches for 178 yards and a TD through the first two games of the season. ... Falcons WR Darnell Mooney had a 41-yard touchdown catch and two more huge receptions on the winning drive against the Eagles, totaling a team-high 88 yards on those three grabs. ... Chiefs DT Chris Jones has 77 sacks. He needs two more to pass Justin Houston for fourth most in team history. Chiefs FS Chamarri Conner returned a fumble 37 yards for a touchdown against Cincinnati. He also had a sack on a blitz. ... Falcons DE Grady Jarrett had six quarterback hits in the first two games. ... Butker has kicked four game-winners in his Kansas City career. He also has made 29 field goals of at least 50 yards.

Don’t read too much into Travis Kelce’s meager production in the Kansas City offense. The four-time All-Pro tight end has just four catches for 39 yards through two games, with a long catch called back by a penalty last week against Cincinnati. He should get a bigger workload as the Chiefs adapt to Brown’s absence and the loss of Pacheco.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

FILE - Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt (27) scores a touchdown ahead of Los Angeles Rams free safety Lamarcus Joyner (20) as Chiefs offensive guard Cameron Erving (75) looks on during the first half of an NFL football game, Monday, Nov. 19, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud III (34) is tackled by Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Zack Baun (53) after a catch during the second half of an NFL football game Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker (7) walks off the field after kicking a 51-yard field goal at the end of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals to give the Chiefs a 26-25 victory Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Drake London (5) celebrates his touchdown with teammate Chris Lindstrom (63) during the second half of an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Ahn Sung-ki, one of South Korean cinema’s biggest stars whose prolific 60-year career and positive, gentle public image earned him the nickname “The Nation’s Actor,” died Monday. He was 74.

Ahn, who had suffered blood cancer for years, was pronounced dead at Seoul's Soonchunhyang University Hospital, his agency, the Artist Company, and hospital officials said.

“We feel deep sorrow at the sudden, sad news, pray for the eternal rest of the deceased and offer our heartfelt condolences to his bereaved family members," the Artist Company said in a statement.

President Lee Jae Myung issued a condolence message saying Ahn provided many people with comfort, joy and time for reflection. “I already miss his warm smile and gentle voice,” Lee wrote on Facebook.

Born to a filmmaker in the southeastern city of Daegu in 1952, Ahn made his debut as a child actor in the movie “The Twilight Train” in 1957. He subsequently appeared in about 70 movies as a child actor before he left the film industry to live an ordinary life.

In 1970, Ahn entered Seoul’s Hankuk University of Foreign Studies as a Vietnamese major. Ahn said he graduated with top honors but failed to land jobs at big companies, who likely saw his Vietnamese major largely useless after a communist victory in the Vietnam War in 1975.

Ahn returned to the film industry in 1977 believing he could still excel in acting. In 1980, he rose to fame for his lead role in Lee Jang-ho’s “Good, Windy Days,” a hit coming-of-age movie about the struggle of working-class men from rural areas during the country’s rapid rise. Ahn won the best new actor award in the prestigious Grand Bell Awards, the Korean version of the Academy Awards.

He later starred in a series of highly successful and critically acclaimed movies, sweeping best actor awards and becoming arguably the country’s most popular actor in much of the 1980-90s.

Some of his memorable roles included a Buddhist monk in 1981’s “Mandara,” a beggar in 1984’s “Whale Hunting,” a Vietnam War veteran-turned-novelist in 1992’s “White Badge,” a corrupt police officer in 1993’s “Two Cops,” a murderer in 1999’s “No Where To Hide,” a special forces trainer in 2003’s “Silmido” and a devoted celebrity manager in 2006’s “Radio Star.”

Ahn had collected dozens of trophies in major movie awards in South Korea, including winning the Grand Bell Awards for best actor five times, an achievement no other South Korean actors have matched yet.

Ahn built up an image as a humble, trustworthy and family-oriented celebrity who avoided major scandals and maintained a quiet, stable personal life. Past public surveys chose Ahn as South Korea’s most beloved actor and deserving of the nickname “The Nation’s Actor.”

Ahn said he earlier felt confined with his “The Nation's Actor” labeling but eventually thought that led him down the right path. In recent years, local media has given other stars similar honorable nicknames, but Ahn was apparently the first South Korean actor who was dubbed “The Nation's Actor.”

“I felt I should do something that could match that title. But I think that has eventually guided me on a good direction,” Ahn said in an interview with Yonhap news agency in 2023.

In media interviews, Ahn couldn’t choose what his favorite movie was, but said that his role as a dedicated, hardworking manger for a washed-up rock singer played by Park Jung-hoon resembled himself in real life the most.

Ahn was also known for his reluctance to do love scenes. He said said he was too shy to act romantic scenes and sometimes asked directors to skip steamy scenes if they were only meant to add spice to movies.

“I don’t do well on acting like looking at someone who I don’t love with loving eyes and kissing really romantically. I feel shy and can’t express such emotions well,” Ahn said in an interview with the Shindonga magazine in 2007. “Simply, I’m clumsy on that. So I couldn’t star in such movies a lot. But ultimately, that was a right choice for me.”

Ahn is survived by his wife and their two sons. A mourning station at a Seoul hospital was to run until Friday.

FILE - South Korean actor Ahn Sung-ki smiles for a photo on the red carpet at the 56th Daejong Film Awards ceremony in Seoul, South Korea, June 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

FILE - South Korean actor Ahn Sung-ki attends an event as part of the 11th Pusan International Film Festival in Busan, South Korea, Oct. 13, 2006. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)