Chiefs defense sends a message in Week 17 win vs. Raiders

The Kansas City Chiefs forced the Oakland Raiders to a rout in a dominating 35-3 Week 17 win.

Welcome to the Week 17 edition of our Kansas City Chiefs weekly player awards, where we focus on which players are on the rise and the top performers of the game on both sides of the ball.

The Chiefs’ defense stepped up in a crucial way, holding the Oakland Raiders to just 3 points. While it had some visible struggles, it held strong and created a heap of turnovers, including a pick-6 by safety Daniel Sorensen, one of two interceptions thrown by opposing quarterback Derek Carr on the day. Mahomes also capped off an impressive regular season, becoming just the second player in NFL history to throw for 50 passing touchdowns and 5,000 passing yards in a single season.

Player on the Rise: Offense

Wide receiver Demarcus Robinson has not had his name called very often throughout this season, but that is mainly due to the plethora of talent the Chiefs have offensively. After zero touchdowns in the first 13 games, Robinson has one touchdown in each of his last three games. While he is not considered Mahomes’ first option, he fills in when necessary, and that was evident on an 89-yard touchdown reception midway through the 3rd quarter.

1 reception
89 receiving yards
1 touchdown

RUNNER-UP: Darrel Williams (11 rushes, 31 yards)

Player on the Rise: Defense

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After struggling in his debut game against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 16, cornerback Charvarius Ward had an impressive game against the Oakland Raiders the following week. Ward was thrown into the fire against the Seahawks, making his NFL debut, a game in which he started against a veteran wide receiver in Doug Baldwin. It was a rather poor game played by the defense, and many had called Ward out for his abysmal play. Being put in a situation like that is not ideal for any player though, especially an undrafted free agent rookie.

Ward had a better game against the Raiders, however, as he notched 9 tackles and looked much more solid. Moving forward, especially in the upcoming AFC playoffs, Ward will likely see more playing time in a struggling secondary for the Chiefs.

9 solo tackles
2 passes defended

RUNNER-UP: Reggie Ragland (4 total tackles, 1 interception)

Player of the Week: Offense

In his 6th 100-yard receiving game on the season, wide receiver Tyreek Hill had a great record-setting game against the Raiders. Hill, who had just one reception for 13 yards in the first divisional matchup against the Raiders, finished the game with just over 100 receiving yards. Hill set a franchise record for most receiving yards in a single season with 1,479, besting former wide receiver Derrick Alexander‘s record of 1,391.

Heading into the playoffs, Hill will need to step up even more as the team’s star wide receiver will likely be Mahomes’ favorite target alongside star tight end Travis Kelce.

5 receptions
101 receiving yards
1 receiving touchdown
1 carry, 15 rushing yards
1 rushing touchdown

RUNNER-UP: Travis Kelce (5 receptions, 62 receiving yards)

Player of the Week: Defense

There were several standouts on defense, including safety Daniel Sorensen, who notched a pick-6 in the first half. Being a player of the week simply is not all about stats, however. Cornerback Kendall Fuller, just over a week after having surgery, came into the game with a chip on his shoulder. He was not going to let a large cast on his right hand keep him out of the game by any means, and looked fashionably good while doing it.

Fuller had over ten tackles against the Raiders, and as the team’s top cornerback, he’s going to need to do a lot more as the team prepares for the playoffs. He definitely contributed to the team’s confidence heading into the playoffs.

9 solo tackles
3 assisted tackles
12 total tackles

RUNNER-UP: Daniel Sorensen (2 tackles, 1 pass defended, 1 interception, 1 defensive TD); Justin Houston (5 total tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery)

The Wrap

The Chiefs have officially clinched the #1 seed in the playoffs. Home-field advantage and a first-round bye, both of which will be crucial heading into January, is both crucial. Fans are going to need to step up astronomically in order to make that home-field advantage mean something, and as the loudest stadium in the world, I would put money on the fans being a huge factor come playoff time.

Several records were set and matched today, all on the offense. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes became just the second player in NFL history to notch 5,000 passing yards and 50 passing touchdowns in a single season.

Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce set a new NFL record for receiving yards by a tight end in a single season, with 1,336. The record was previously held by New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski with 1,327. Kelce held the record for all of about an hour before San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle set a new record, but it still caps off the best season of Kelce’s career thus far. Kelce also broke Tony Gonzalez’s franchise mark for most receptions in a single season.

Wide receiver Tyreek Hill has also set a franchise record in receiving yards with 1,479 receiving yards. The previous record was held by former wide receiver Derrick Alexander with 1,391.

The defense had a dominating performance that was more than well-needed. Not just for the win, but for the confidence of the defense, and the team’s fans. As the defense has struggled all throughout the season, it was more than nice to see the defense step up and punish the Raiders for even stepping foot into Arrowhead.

Heading into the playoffs, this game will be great momentum for an ailing defense that needs to make something happen. It’s imperative that they step up, and defensive coordinator Bob Sutton needs to make something happen.