Chiefs bounce back from tough loss to Eagles, 14-0 hole vs. Raiders for key AFC West win
Down 14-0 in the first half, on the heels of a crushing loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Kansas City Chiefs faced a critical juncture in their season against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.
They answered the call.
The Chiefs reeled off 14 unanswered points before halftime then dominated the second half en route to a 31-17 win. The victory was their sixth straight over the Raiders and secured an 8-3 record to fend off a surging Denver Broncos team in the AFC West race.
The Broncos improved to 6-5 Sunday with a 29-12 win over the Cleveland Browns, their fifth straight. A Raiders team that had won two out of three under interim head coach Antonio Pierce fell to 5-7.
For more than a quarter, the Raiders looked ready to extend their resurgence while taking a two-score lead. They followed up an opening-drive touchdown pass from Aidan O'Connell to Jakobi Meyers with a 63-yard touchdown run by Josh Jacobs to stretch their lead.
Meanwhile, a Chiefs offense that struggled with mistakes in last week's 21-17 loss to Philadelphia produced 13 yards and two punts on its opening two possessions. But KC found its stride in a hurry.
Kansas City cut its deficit in half with a grinding 12-play, 71-yard touchdown drive that ended with a 1-yard Isiah Pacheco touchdown run. They followed that up with a triple-toss flea flicker that ended with a 23-yard dart from Patrick Mahomes to Travis Kelce that set up a game-tying touchdown pass to Justin Watson.
They entered halftime with a 14-14 tie and kept on the gas while limiting the Raiders to three second-half points. In the end, it was a typical Chiefs result against a Raiders team Mahomes has beaten 10 times in 11 games.
They reeled off 31 points in three quarters after being held scoreless the previous three — two of which were in a scoreless second half against the Eagles. Mahomes completed 27 of 34 passes for 298 yards with two touchdowns and no turnovers. The offense averaged 6.2 yards per play while the defense limited the Raiders to two punts, two turnovers on downs and a field goal after halftime.
Andy Reid makes Chiefs, NFL history
Head coach Andy Reid made some NFL history in the process. With the win, he improved to 173-124 with the Chiefs, passing Hall of Famer Hank Stram for the most wins in franchise history.
He's also the all-time winningest coach for the Philadelphia Eagles and is now the first coach in league history to win the most games as the head coach for two different franchises.
