Raiders vs Chiefs: Going behind the numbers from Week 5

The Chiefs beat the Raiders by a final score of 29-30 on Monday night. There were highs, lows, and everything in-between—this is the story of the game by the numbers

The Kansas City Chiefs outlasted the Las Vegas Raiders to emerge victorious on Monday Night Football in Week 5. The 29-30 final score was the culmination of a number of questionable coaching decisions, penalties, and an excellent come-from-behind effort from the Chiefs offense. Andy Reid is now 16-3 against the Raiders as the head coach of the Chiefs, and for all intents and purposes, the Chiefs and Raiders rivalry is all the way back on.

From the egregious roughing the passer call on Chris Jones late in the second quarter to Travis Kelce and Josh Jacobs each racking up some new personal records, storylines from this game will be abundant. Chiefs Kingdom will be riding the high of back-to-back primetime victories in preparation for the Week 6 matchup against the Buffalo Bills, but before we look ahead to next week, lets examine this roller coaster of a game and explore the numbers that made it.

4

I don’t need to tell any of you how special this game was for Travis Kelce, but we cannot tell the story of this game without highlighting it. With four receiving touchdowns on the night, Kelce reset his own personal record for single game scores, and also rewrote the Monday Night Football record books in the process.

Kelce’s effort in last night’s game marked the first four-touchdown game by any player ever on a Monday night in the NFL, and he did so in style. The connection that Kelce and Mahomes have is unmatched across the league, and seems to shine through the most in moments of adversity. Facing an early 17-0 deficit, the Chiefs’ offense never appeared phased, and ol’ faithful was on full display. Take a bow Travis Kelce, you are the best in the business.

5

While Travis Kelce’s scoring stole the show on Monday night, another Chiefs pass catcher broke onto the scene and deserves his kudos. Marquez Valdez-Scantling had lived in the shadows through the first four weeks of the season, but his potential as a deep threat for this offense was apparent last night.

With six catches for 90 yards (15 yards per catch), MVS’ first Raiders week was his coming out party. Not only were his targets and total yards improved upon from previous weeks, five of his six receptions were good for Chiefs’ first downs. Without further beating the long-dead horse that is conversation around Tyreek Hill’s absence in this offense, Valdez-Scantling is slowly emerging as a consistent and trustworthy option for Mahomes post-Tyreek.

Over the past four seasons, it has been Hill or Kelce that Mahomes looked to when the team needed a big first down. Kelce is still the clear favorite target in the offense, but MVS was targeted on five third downs last night. His effort repeatedly kept momentum on Kansas City’s sideline. He’s sure to find the end zone eventually, but for now, this type of performance should be well received and applauded by fans.

72

The Chiefs were flagged for penalties five times and forfeited 72 yards on Monday. 38 of those penalty yards were rewarded to the Raiders on two extremely questionable calls. Jaylen Watson was nailed for pass interference in the end zone after turning his head to the ball and getting tangled up with Davantae Adams. The play cost the Chiefs 23 yards of field position, put the Raiders at the one yard line, and led to an early 14-0 lead for Las Vegas. PI is, and always has been, the most subjective penalty in sports, but this one was tough to stomach. Momentum belonged entirely to the Raiders at the time and only compounded after that play.

Further, Chris Jones made one of the best plays of the year late in the second quarter when he strip sacked Derek Carr and looked to be headed to the end zone for a touchdown. The play was blown dead after a roughing the passer call was made, giving the Raiders 15 yards and an automatic first down. With a great deal of confusion, Joe Buck stated on the broadcast, “what is he supposed to do? Disappear?” The NFL is under hellfire in the wake of the Tua Tagovailoa injury last week, and everybody is in favor of protecting players, but the league has to get a grip on its stance on these calls. Shout out to Chiefs Kingdom for letting the refs have it after that one and carrying that energy into the second half.

154

Josh Jacobs set a personal record for rushing yards in a single game with 154. The Chiefs came into Monday night leading the NFL for the least rushing yards allowed to opponents per game (65.8), and Jacobs night played a huge role in the outcome. He was as steady a force as there was on the field, and was the first running back to truly have a hay day against the Chiefs defense.

Kansas City faced James Conner, Austin Ekeler, Jonathan Taylor, and Leonard Fournette leading up to this game, but it was Josh Jacobs who found success. This game was tight, and the story of how it played out cannot be told without highlighting Jacobs’ effort. In a year where his fifth-year option was declined by Las Vegas, the Raiders’ leading rusher is playing for his next pay check, and last night’s performance is sure to be mentioned at the negotiation table next offseason.

13

As in Hunter Renfrow. He laid out Davantae Adams on the final play of the game when their deep crossing post routes got tangled up. Raiders gonna Raider.