The Kansas City Chiefs dominated in all facets of the game to overwhelm the Oakland Raiders in an important game in the AFC West.
This game was only ever going to go in one direction.
From the opening drive on which Kansas City Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu intercepted Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, the Chiefs completely dominated the Raiders in a 40-9 win at home to take a nice lead in the AFC West.
Whether on offense, defense or special teams, the Chiefs had the Raiders’ number at every level, proving that while Oakland has enjoyed a nice season—better than what most predicted—they’re still not ready to compete in the AFC. They’ve now lost consecutive games by more than 30 points, including a pitiful Week 12 showing against the New York Jets last week.
The Chiefs defense came up with a pick-six by Juan Thornhill against Carr to go with the Honey Badger’s interception. From there, the Chiefs allowed Joshua Jacobs to pick up nice batches of yards on the ground, but it was all meaningless in the end as the Chiefs clamped down when the Raiders came in view of actually scoring. Carr finished 20 of 30 for 222 yards, 1 late touchdown and 2 interceptions—good for a 71.8 passer rating. A look at the defensive effort:
The first 7 #Raiders possessions:
— Arrowhead Addict (@ArrowheadAddict) December 2, 2019
-Interception
-Fumble
-Punt
-Turnover on downs
-Pick-6
-Missed FG
-Punt
The Chiefs offense stalled a bit compared to previous weeks due to crazy winds at Arrowhead Stadium and dropped passes, including three by Travis Kelce. Still, Mahomes showed enough of his MVP form to keep the chains moving and the Chiefs on the board. He even threw in his first rushing touchdown of the season with a nice run in the second quarter. Mahomes finished with 15 completions on 29 attempts for 175 yards and 1 touchdown.
Even the Chiefs special teams came up big on the night. Chiefs linebacker Dorian O’Daniel recovered a fumble forced by rookie cornerback Rashad Fenton in the first quarter, and Tanoh Kpassagnon also blocked a late PAT only to have it returned by cornerback Charvarius Ward.
The Chiefs now prepare to take on the No. 1 seed in the AFC as they visit the New England Patriots. Meanwhile the red hot Tennessee Titans visit Oakland, who are barely clinging to any playoff hopes. The Chiefs have moved to 8-4 on the year and the Raiders are back to .500 at 6-6.