KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It was one game in a schedule of 16, and placing too much emphasis on a single outcome can lead to quick and incorrect assumptions about a football team.

Just ask the Kansas City Chiefs. They lifted their record to 2-2 with a 41-14 beat-down of the New England Patriots on Monday night at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs opened the season with an ugly 19-point home loss to the Tennessee Titans, a team that hasn’t won a game since.

The Kansas City team that took the field Monday wearing all red uniforms dominated the Patriots (2-2). On offense, defense and special teams, the Chiefs able to control the momentum.

“We’ve gotten better each week,” said Kansas City quarterback Alex Smith, who outdueled New England quarterback Tom Brady by throwing three touchdown passes and no interceptions. Brady had one scoring throw and two interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown.

After missing the previous game due to an ankle injury, Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles was back, and he was again the focal point of the offense, scoring three touchdowns and producing 108 total yards.

“Coach (Andy) Reid told us that nobody can be judged by their first game,” said Charles, who ran for one score and caught two touchdown passes. “All we knew was we had to get better, and that’s what we’ve done. We still have a lot of work to do.”

The Patriots sustained their worst defeat since September 7, 2003, when they lost the season opener 31-0 to the Bills in Buffalo.

“We got to play a lot better if we’re going to be a good team and win games,” New England cornerback Devin McCourty said. “This is the most embarrassing game I’ve ever been part of. We lost in every aspect.”

The Kansas City defense kept the New England offense under control, allowing just 290 total yards. The Patriots did not find the scoreboard until late in the third quarter when Brady connected with wide receiver Brandon LaFell for a 44-yard touchdown play that cut the deficit to 27-7.

Earlier in the third quarter, the Chiefs picked up their first takeaways of the season, forcing a Brady fumble and then grabbing two interceptions, one of which free safety Husain Abdullah returned 39 yards for a touchdown. They converted the New England turnovers into 17 points.

Reid’s offense gained 443 yards thanks to multiple contributors. Along with Charles’ 92 rushing yards, running back Knile Davis ran for 107 yards, while tight end Travis Kelce caught eight passes for 93 yards and a touchdown. Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe grabbed five passes for 81 yards. Smith completed 20 of 26 passes for 248 yards.

What the Chiefs said:

“That was our objective, to come out and just play physical. That’s kind of our M.O. right now, to play as hard as we can, as physical as we can for all four quarters, all 60 minutes. We came out and did that.” — Tight end Travis Kelce.

What the Patriots said:

“There are some things we have to correct now. We need to get more confidence and more consistency going forward. Each week there has been something different. Am I worried? I am always worried when we put out a performance like we did tonight. That is not us.” — Defensive tackle Vince Wilfork.

What we learned about the Chiefs:

1. Andy Reid’s playbook is expanding on a weekly basis, and the Kansas City coach is incorporating more players into the game plan. Against New England, he had a two-headed running game with Jamaal Charles and Knile Davis that produced a combined 199 yards. Reid used a three-tight-end set quite a bit vs. the Patriots, and it wasn’t a run scheme, but rather a passing formation, as he set all three tight ends wide right in a bunch. Travis Kelce caught eight passes for 93 yards.

2. Takeaways are always important, and now the Chiefs finally have some. After failing to force the opposition into a turnover through the first three games, the Kansas City defense picked off two Tom Brady passes and caused the New England quarterback to fumble, with the Chiefs recovering deep in Patriots territory. Defensive coordinator Bob Sutton said that the interceptions and fumbles tend to come in bunches, and the Chiefs enjoyed the bunch they got against New England, turning them into 17 points in the victory.

–RB Knile Davis continued his productive ways with his 107 rushing yards on 16 carries against New England on Monday night. The performance included a 48-yard run that helped set up the Chiefs’ second touchdown. He also caught one pass for 12 yards.

–RB Jamaal Charles returned to the Chiefs’ lineup Monday night after missing the previous game against Miami because of an ankle injury. Charles found the end zone three times and put up 108 offensive yards on 21 touches. Two of his scores came as a receiver.

–QB Alex Smith turned in one of the strongest passing performances of his 20-game career with the Chiefs. He completed 77 percent of his passes (20 of 26) for 248 yards, an average of 9.5 yards an attempt. He threw three touchdown passes, giving him seven on the season, and he went another game without throwing an interception.

What we learned about the Patriots:

1. Quarterback Tom Brady needs some help if the Patriots’ offense is going to produce its customary numbers. New England was unable to mount much of a running game against Kansas City, managing to top 10 yards on just one run out of 16. The passing attack was Brady to wide receiver Brandon LaFell (six catches, 119 yards and a touchdown), and that was it. Other Patriots receivers caught just four passes for 23 yards. Tight end Rob Gronkowski had only two catches for 31 yards, though he scored a late touchdown.

2. The New England defense had a bad game, one of its worst in recent seasons. The Patriots allowed 443 offensive yards, as the Chiefs were able to run and throw the ball with very few problems. The Patriots did not force a turnover, they sacked quarterback Alex Smith just twice and they couldn’t stop Kansas City in the red zone, giving up four scores in six possessions. The Chiefs had nearly a 13-minute edge in time of possession, as New England struggled to get them off the field.

–TE Rob Gronkowski extended his streak of games with at least one reception to 54, the fourth-longest streak among NFL tight ends. He also caught a touchdown pass, giving him 45 since the 2010 season. Those 45 scored came on 239 catches, nearly one in every five catches.

–QB Jimmy Garoppolo saw his first NFL game action Monday night against Kansas City, and he completed six of his seven passes for 70 yards, including a 13-yard touchdown pass to TE Rob Gronkowski. Garoppolo also connected on a 37-yard pass play with WR Brandon LaFell.

–RB James White saw his first NFL action against Kansas City on Monday night, and he had three carries for 21 yards and three catches for 15 yards. The fourth-round draft choice out of Wisconsin was inactive for the first three games of the season.