What we learned from Kansas City’s win over Las Vegas

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1. The Chiefs win ugly again. Kansas City is now 11-1 after defeating an inferior opponent in a game they probably should have won by double digits. They certainly had their chances, including five trips into the red zone, but only scored one touchdown out of those five chances. You can give credit to the Raiders defense, which was fired Patrick Mahomes five times (including twice in the Raiders’ red zone), but those who have watched the Chiefs know that these struggles aren’t just on Black Friday. Kansas City has found ways to win, but they are far from perfect. Mahomes still has a hard time connecting Xavier Worthy – their missed third-down attempt in the fourth quarter was emblematic of their struggles – and even DeAndre Hopkinswho has largely settled into his key role, heroically dropped an attempted third-down pass in the third quarter. They also seem to run out of answers in the red zone, especially when the defense blocks quick attacks along the goal line. Fortunately, the late offensive explosion in Las Vegas seemed to wake up the Chiefs, who need such a call at this point in the season (similar to the one they received from the Raiders on Christmas Day last year). We’ll see if this game helps them build momentum in early December.
2. Known mistakes doom Raiders. Las Vegas spent two and a half quarters milling around the field at Arrowhead Stadium, scoring just three points, missing a field goal and getting stuffed on fourth-and-1, resulting in a game that wasn’t particularly compelling. That changed when a 68-yard kick was returned Ameer Abdullah woke them up, leading to a fantastic touchdown catchby Brock Bowers. On their next possession, another explosive play – this time a 58-yard touchdown pass Tre Tucker – turned the game on its head and woke the Chiefs from their own slumber. The Raiders ended up with two chances for a potential win and moved to the brink of Daniel Carlsonwhere he ultimately botched the long attempt by clipping the turf with his kicking foot. Given another chance, the Raiders moved down the field again and covered 54 yards before an operational error occurred – the game clock expired, middle Jackson Powers Johnson rushed to snap a surprised snap Aidan O’Connellwhich resulted in a fumble – ended their hopes of a last-second win. While O’Connell took the blame for the crucial turnover, these mistakes are typical of the 2024 Raiders, a team that can’t get out of its own way. And on a day when they probably didn’t deserve to have a chance to win, the Raiders found another way to squander their best chances. So a team ends up with a 2-10 record and an immediate future that becomes more uncertain every week.
3. The Raiders still have a lot to fix, but the tight end position is solid. Because the Raiders have proven to be a bad football team, much of the football world may not be familiar with Bowers’ game. They learned it on Friday. Bowers was once again Las Vegas’ leading receiver, catching 10 of his 14 targets for 140 yards and scoring a spectacular 33-yard touchdown that was a crucial part of the Raiders’ comeback. He and Jakobi Meyers are the only two trustworthy playmakers in this offense right now, and Bowers is clearly the better of the two. He is already one of the best tight ends in the NFL and is only a rookie. With that appearance on national television, Friday may have been the moment the rest of the NFL took notice of his talents — and potential.
4. Welcome back, Chris Jones. The Chiefs’ star defensive tackle has impacted nearly every game he has played in this season, but he hasn’t had a sack since Week 4. That seven-game losing streak – the longest in a season of his career – ended on Friday, Jones sacked O’Connell on a third-down play that began at the Kansas City 4-yard line, forcing the Raiders to go with him to settle for a field goal. Jones added another sack later in the same quarter, ending a drive near midfield by beating O’Connell on third-and-9. He’s obviously an important part of the Chiefs’ defense, and his return to the sack column is an encouraging sign for a defense that, given the current state of their offense, might be counted on even more in the 2024 postseason than it was a year ago .

Inside the next generation of stats from the Raiders Chiefs (via NFL Pro): Maxx Crosby played every one of the Raiders’ defensive snaps (67 snaps) for the sixth straight game, extending his streak to 387 consecutive snaps – the longest streak by a defensive lineman in the NGS era (since 2016).

NFL Research: Patrick Mahomes recorded his 100th career win (including playoffs) in Week 13, surpassing Tom Brady for the fastest win ever (126 starts).