The Kansas City Chiefs clinched their 10th consecutive playoff berth in classic Kansas City fashion. The Chiefs’ 19-17 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Black Friday featured some late-game drama and crucial defensive stops. The victory not only extended Kansas City’s win streak to six games but also eliminated the Raiders from postseason contention.
Patrick Mahomes led this offense with 306 passing yards and a touchdown performance. However, it was the Chiefs’ defense, and a botched snap by the Raiders, that ultimately sealed the game. Kansas City now stands at 11-1, the best record in the NFL, and moves one step closer to securing the top seed in the AFC.
Chiefs vs. Raiders First Half Highlights
The Chiefs’ red zone woes continued in this game, as they opened the game with a 13-play drive, aided by a pass interference call. However, once they reached the Raiders 7-yard line the offense stalled out. This set up the Chiefs newest Kicker Matthew Wright with a 25-yard field goal attempt which he knocked through the uprights, giving Kansas City an early 3-0 lead.
Las Vegas would respond to the Chiefs’ drive, with one of their own in the second quarter that got set up by a deep pass to Wide Receiver Jakobi Meyers for 43 yards, setting the Raiders up at the Chiefs’ 9-yard line. Then Chris Jones made his presence felt by delivering a crucial sack, which forced Las Vegas to take the 27-yard field goal and they tied the game at 3-3. Despite both teams trading defensive stops, Mahomes and the Chiefs offense would come alive and complete a 7-play drive that was capped off by a 6-yard touchdown by Justin Watson in the second quarter to give the Chiefs a 10-3 lead going into halftime.
Third Quarter Featured Back and Forth Action
Las Vegas, despite opening the second half with a strong drive, was stopped on fourth down at Kansas City’s 31-yard line. The Chiefs took advantage of the turnover on downs and Isiah Pacheco found a hole and went for 34 yards setting up Wright for a 42-yard field goal which extended the lead to 13-3.
The Raiders attempted to answer the Chiefs’ scoring drive with help from a 29-yard pass to their rookie Tight End Brock Bowers. However, Chiefs Defensive End George Karlaftis came through with a sack moving the Raiders backward and forcing them to settle for a 55-yard field goal attempt. Daniel Carlson missed, and Kansas City was given favorable field position after a 31-yard completion to DeAndre Hopkins. The Chiefs were right back into scoring territory, but they once again stalled out in the red zone and settled for a 35-yard field goal from Wright which further extended the lead to 16-3.
Late in the third quarter, the Raiders struck back quickly with help from a 33-yard touchdown pass from Raiders Quarterback Aidan O’Connell to Bowers. This made it a 16-10 lead for the Chiefs heading into the fourth quarter with the game’s momentum in Las Vegas’ favor.
Fourth Quarter and Late-Game Drama
In the fourth quarter, the Chiefs began to unravel on both sides of the ball. First defensively, giving up a 58-yard touchdown catch to Raiders Wide Receiver Tre Tucker. This marked the Raiders first lead of the game at 17-16. The Chiefs attempted to answer, relying heavily on their passing game but as was the case for much of the night. Kansas City’s offense again stalled out, and Mahomes was sacked in the red zone. This led to the Chiefs once again settling for the field which allowed them to retake the lead at 19-17 with just under 10 minutes left in the fourth.
On the following drive, the KC defense, although surrendering yardage in chunks, managed to come through with a stop in large part to Nick Bolton and the secondary making timely plays. The Raiders had to settle for another 50+ yard field goal, this time from 58 yards and once again Carlson missed it. Now Kansas City had the opportunity to ice the game, with just over two minutes to play. However, they were unable to after going three-and-out when they failed to convert on a deep ball to Xavier Worthy on third down and had to punt the ball back to Las Vegas giving them one final chance.
Then the Raiders did what they had done all game long, and moved the ball down the field with relative ease against the Chiefs. Despite starting on their 8-yard line and having no timeouts left, they managed to get to Kansas City’s 32-yard line. Then on a third down, with 14 seconds left, a miscommunication happened with the Raiders’ snap, and the ball was fumbled and recovered by Bolton. The Chiefs escaped with another win, continuing their season-long tradition but moving one step closer to winning their division and locking up the top seed in the AFC.
Final Thoughts
The Chiefs did not play exceptionally well on either offense or defense, but they did come through with winning plays when they needed them. Offensively, Mahomes and his pass catchers did just enough to help set up their new kicker in spots where he would feel comfortable to be able to deliver. On defense players like Jones, Bolton, and Karlaftis came through with crucial sacks, and turnovers to secure the win.
Up next, the Chiefs will host the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, December 8 aiming to accomplish yet another divisional sweep. As the postseason approaches, Kansas City still has much to clean up, but they are still getting starters back and sit atop the NFL with the best record to date, so that’s not too bad for a team that has yet to play with their best football through 13 weeks of an NFL season.
