Five biggest surprises from the Kansas City Chiefs ‘run it back’ campaign so far

Losing to the Las Vegas Raiders

Since Andy Reid became the coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, the Chiefs have absolutely dominated the hapless Oakland, and now Las Vegas Raiders. In seven seasons, the Chiefs won a total of 12 out of the 14 games by an average margin of 14.1 points per game. Of those twelve wins, eight of them were absolute blowouts.

At a certain point, when you’ve beaten an opponent so handily for so many years, there’s a tendency to overlook them. That’s pretty much what happened in week five of this season. It was clear from the second or third drive on that the Chiefs offense and defense alike simply hadn’t prepared with the same type of mentality their fans are used to.

While 32 points would have been enough in every contest against the Raiders in the Andy Reid era save one, it was not enough on that day. The Chiefs allowed a season high 40 points, something only allowed five times in the first seven seasons of Andy Reid’s tenure.

It was a shocker. Even the Raiders themselves must have believed that, as it’s rumored they took a victory lap around Arrowhead Stadium in celebration after the game. Truth be told, I think it served as a wake up call for the team.

In the three games since, the Chiefs defense has only allowed 14 points per game. Travis Kelce is on record as saying the Raiders game still bothers him. While it was a shock, and quite annoying to say the least, it might be the type of loss that fuels the team’s focus to repeat as Super Bowl champions. If that’s the case, you can almost call it a win.