
After falling behind early on, the Kansas City Chiefs rallied to defeat the Las Vegas Raiders 31–17 on Sunday afternoon, earning their eighth win of the year.
Despite the slow start, the Chiefs outscored the Raiders 31-3 the remainder of the game, even though Kansas City had only 13 yards of offense when Las Vegas took a 14-point lead early in the second quarter.
“It was a difficult task to recover from a 14-point deficit,” Head Coach Andy Reid said. “Our guys fought back, and I’m extremely proud of them for that.”
After running just seven plays in their first two drives, the Chiefs’ third possession saw a 12-play, 71-yard scoring series culminating in a 1-yard touchdown plunge by tailback Isiah Pacheco. This was the turning point in the game. The drive gave Kansas City a boost that determined the course of the remainder of the game and cut the Raiders’ lead in half.
QB Patrick Mahomes said, “It was big for us to earn that first touchdown drive.” “It kind of became the momentum back in our favor.”
After forcing the Raiders to punt on their next series, the Chiefs’ defense held firm, and eight plays later, quarterback Kirk Mahomes put Kansas City back in the end zone with a game-winning, three-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Justin Watson.
Following the early deficit, the Chiefs had two scoring drives, during which Mahomes completed 9 of 12 passes for 124 yards and a touchdown. But he wasn’t done. Before Pacheco scored his second touchdown run of the day, the defending MVP of the league guided another scoring series on the Chiefs’ first possession of the third quarter. He found four different receivers for completions.
After trailing by double digits for the majority of the first half, Pacheco’s young career saw its first multi-score game. The touchdown put Kansas City ahead for the first time of the day.
At the end of the day, Mahomes stated, “It’s all heart.” It [comes down to] who wants it more in the second half. Although you can have play designs, you’re generally not following the script. It is up to you to go after what you truly desire. The guys did an excellent job of that today, in my opinion. They made things happen even when they weren’t pretty.”
Rashee Rice, a rookie wide receiver, was among the players who on Sunday amply displayed that unwavering spirit. Rice’s 19-yard reception assisted in setting up Pacheco’s game-winning touchdown run. Rice had a fantastic day overall, catching eight passes for 107 yards and a touchdown during the contest.
“He’s a smart kid, who also works immensely hard at his profession,” said Reid. “He has earned the confidence of the quarterback.”
When Mahomes targeted Rice on third down just across midfield early in the fourth quarter, it was clear he had faith in the rookie quarterback, and Rice did not let him down. With a 39-yard touchdown run, the rookie pass-catcher walked the corner and effectively ended the game.
“I was running down the field, and I understood that it was a man-to-man defense,” Rice claimed. “My goal was to cross the field and cross directly in front of Patrick’s line of sight so he could see me. He placed it precisely where I needed to run that 200-meter dash and wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling made a fantastic block to allow me to score the touchdown at the end.”
After struggling to score points in recent weeks, Rice’s touchdown play represented the “knockout blow” that Kansas City needed, and the defense of the Chiefs rebounded well to post another impressive performance. In particular, Kansas City’s defense of Las Vegas limited them to 137 yards of offense after their first three drives, which set the stage for the Chiefs’ victory.
All of it helped Kansas City finish the season with an 8-3 record and close to the top spot in the AFC standings—just half a game behind the Baltimore Ravens. With eight consecutive AFC West titles to their name, the Chiefs have also improved to 3-1 against divisional opponents.
There are still lessons for us to take away from this match. Although we didn’t always play at a high enough level, Mahomes stated that “today we definitely took a step in the right direction.” “Now, let’s simply continue to do that during the rest of the season.”
Regarding the injuries, Coach Reid stated that offensive guard Trey Smith (foot), left tackle Donovan Smith (stinger), and wide receiver Skyy Moore (tweaked left knee) “should be OK.”
The Chiefs will now move on to this Sunday’s prime-time game at Lambeau Field against the Green Bay Packers.