KC Chiefs lock up top seed with dominant win over Raiders

The Kansas City Chiefs complete a season sweep of the Las Vegas Raiders to finish 6-0 in the AFC West and as the AFC’s No. 1 seed.

The Kansas City Chiefs had one objective heading into the final week of the regular season. A win over the Las Vegas Raiders would clinch the AFC’s top seed and a bye in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. Kansas City was up for the challenge, defeating the Raiders 31-13. It wasn’t a perfect performance by any stretch of the imagination, but this is the best football Kansas City has played since their Week 7 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

Offensively, the Chiefs were practically note-perfect in the opening half of the game scoring on four of five offensive drives. Las Vegas won the coin toss but deferred to give the Chiefs first crack offensively. Patrick Mahomes and company would respond quickly with a 75-yard touchdown drive punctuated by a 67-yard deep shot to Justin Watson. Mahomes lofted a beautiful throw over Watson’s shoulder to hit him in stride up the left sideline.

Kansas City was forced to punt on their second offensive possession but had been driving into Raiders’ territory at the time. The next four possession went as follows: touchdown, touchdown, and a 44-yard field goal in the waning seconds of the first half. That was arguably the best half of football the Chiefs’ offense has played all season, and Andy Reid deserves credit for calling a brilliant 30 minutes of football to start this game.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Chiefs were dominant up front throughout the game. Kansas City’s defensive line notched 5 sacks on the day. Justin Reid would add a sack of his own to combine for 6 on the day. Chris Jones led the way with 2.5 sacks and 6 quarterback hits in the game. One of his pressures helped create two of the turnovers Kansas City forced. His pressure with the Raiders’ backs at their own end zone made for a rushed throw that was picked off by safety Juan Thornhill. On the previous play, Justin Reid made perhaps his best play of the season with quick recognition and reaction to dump Raiders quarterback Jarrett Stidham for an 8-yard loss.

Jones had help from a few of his defensive line cohorts. Mike Danna contributed 2 sacks of his own and George Karlaftis logged another sack (albeit just a half-sack) for the sixth time in his last 7 games. The box score won’t show it, but the Chiefs had excellent coverage down the field on Saturday. Jarrett Stidham broke the pocket several times throughout the game as there was just nowhere to deliver the football. That’s an encouraging sign heading into the postseason. The Chiefs’ safeties are playing their best football of the season and Kansas City’s rookie corners are holding their own.

It’s also worth noting Kansas City made no major mistakes on special teams and took care of the football today. These two areas were consistently problematic for the Chiefs throughout the season. A Chiefs team that doesn’t beat itself can run the table and win the Super Bowl. It’s encouraging to see the Chiefs put on this kind of performance to lock up the No. 1 seed on their way into the postseason tournament.

Kansas City has now done its part and will be watching Sunday’s games intently to see how things play out for the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals. Home-field advantage is still on the table, but the Chiefs will need help in securing it. A win by the New England Patriots would set up a fifth-straight AFC title game at Arrowhead Stadium granting the Chiefs win their Divisional Round matchup. Otherwise, the game could be played at a neutral site if the Chiefs and Bills wind up in the AFC Championship game. We’ll soon find out who the Chiefs will play in the Divisional Round and which venue they might play in should they advance to the title game again.