Around the AFC West: Raiders end the Chiefs win streak in Week 5

It’s a dark morning, Chiefs Kingdom. I realized something this weekend: I don’t handle losing well. As my husband can attest, I stormed off our deck multiple times during the team’s loss to the Raiders on Sunday and refused to accept this loss—that is, until my Cowboys-loving husband watched his game. It really makes you appreciate that Patrick Mahomes didn’t get carted off. Prayers to Dak.

But let’s not dwell on the NFC. Instead let’s turn our attention to the AFC West.

Las Vegas Raiders

The Las Vegas Raiders entered this divisional matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs with a huge chip on their shoulder. For years, the monkey on Derek Carr‘s back has been that he can’t beat the Chiefs and he can’t touch them at Arrowhead. Until he showed up on Sunday. I personally believe that the Chiefs are a better team than the Raiders (I know I am biased, get over it), but the better team won on Sunday.

The Raiders had to play a near-perfect game in order to beat the Chiefs, and the Chiefs had to play poorly. That was the recipe on Sunday. Now, I do think the Raiders have the pieces to be a real challenger in the future, but they aren’t quite there. Regardless, they walked into Arrowhead and handed the Chiefs a big ‘ol slice of humble pie. Good.

The Raiders dominated in the trenches allowing Carr to have time in the pocket. He used that time to find rookie Henry Ruggs III deep, beating the lauded Chiefs secondary and making them look confused and out of sync.

The Raiders ran the ball and passed the ball with ease. Their defense forced Mahomes to scramble for his life and plugged passing lanes making it almost impossible for the legion of zoom to find a rhythm. Props to the Raiders. They were the better prepared and better coached team on Sunday, and they handed the Super Bowl Champs their first loss of the season.

The Raiders had a few injuries during the game including cornerback Keisean Nixon, defensive end Carl Nassib, and safety Lamarcus Joyner. None appear to be significant nor will they be problematic in the coming weeks. The Raiders appear to be getting healthier as evidenced by the return of Trent Brown to the offensive line and the return of Henry Ruggs to their receiving core.

Next week, the Raiders have a bye. This will allow those that are a little banged up to get healthy before they host Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It will also give them time to enjoy their big win a little longer.