The Las Vegas Raiders put up an incredibly tough fight against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, but it was the visiting team at Allegiant Stadium that left victorious. The Chiefs are now 4-0 to start the year and sit alone in first place in the AFC West after winning only six games a year ago. For their part, the Raiders look like a legitimate contender for a playoff spot and are definitely on the right track.
From some offensive heroics to some frustrating injuries and usage rates, we've got a lot to talk about beyond the renewal of a divisional rivalry. Here are our primary takeaways from a very intense yet entertaining Week 4 contest between the Chiefs and Raiders.
Tyquan Thornton is/was WR1
Rashee Rice was taken out of the game with a hamstring injury. Xavier Worthy had his moments, but he's also not the most effective weapon. If any player deserves to be known as WR1 on the Chiefs at this point, it's Tyquan Thornton, the one target who has produced so much despite so few opportunities. Versus the Raiders, Mahomes found Thornton five times for 111 yards and 2 touchdowns—the only pass catcher worth mentioning on the day. Unfortunately, Thornton injured his ankle on a field-flipping 55-yard catch that looked horrible. The Chiefs will have their bye week to search for answers, but Thornton proved he was one before he went down.
Why Mike Caliendo?
The Chiefs benched Kingsley Suamataia in Week 4 and went with Mike Caliendo at left guard for the entire game. No details were provided as of press time, other than it was a "coaching decision." No matter the reason, the hits on Patrick Mahomes via Caliendo's path should have made it clear that he was not the answer out there. The Chiefs traded for Josh Ezeudu before the season began and kept Hunter Nourzad to also provide interior depth. Caliendo's ceiling is so low that it's hard to understand why the Chiefs wouldn't go with anyone else in that role.
Kenneth Walker cannot be stopped
Kenneth Walker can be slowed. Kenneth Walker cannot be stopped. Just when defenses seem to key in effectively enough on the Chiefs' ground game, Walker finds a way to eventually provide the sort of explosive play that earned him a lucrative three-year deal in the first place. The last two weeks have featured a much greater emphasis on stopping Walker on the part of opposing defenses, and yet Walker continues to find ways to catalyze the offense. All the attention will be on his sensational 76-yard run at the end of the third quarter, but Walker found multiple ways to slip through tacklers when the Chiefs needed a spark.
Special teams are a roller coaster
Not exactly sure what Dave Toub has to change to get his units to stop making critical (and often very silly) errors, but it needs to happen soon. In a game where Nikko Remigio finally had a decent return (a 27-yard punt return made Chiefs Kingdom ecstatic, which tells you just how anemic the results have been here for more than a year), he was also penalized for an invalid fair catch. Why not continue to rack up new ways to make old mistakes, right? That said, it was Toub's guys who also came up with the game-sealing turnover to ice the game: an incredible forced fumble by linebacker Jeffrey Bassa that was recovered by fellow LB Jack Cochrane. Lots of emotions around special teams, which is really the only consistent thing here.
Opposing tight ends are a problem
Brock Bowers is going to get his. That's just the cost of doing business against the Raiders. Every team is going to get burned by Bowers a time or three, but the Chiefs just don't have any real answer for any tight end with even a modicum of receiving talent. Remember, even Greg Dulcich had big plays for the Miami Dolphins in Week 3. From Michael Mayer's impressive afternoon to Ian Thomas's big play, the Chiefs have to find an answer in the second level, and it begins by refusing to give Jack Cochrane so many reps.
Short-yardage predictability has to change
When Kareem Hunt was in the backfield, the Chiefs were automatic in short-yardage situations. That continued into Week 1 as the Chiefs leaned on defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga for short runs or goal-line scenarios, and it felt like K.C. would once again skate through in such scenarios. Alas, that's no longer the case. For the last two weeks, Kenneth Walker has been stuffed at the line of scrimmage time and again
Mansoor Delane is the real deal
If there were any doubts about whether or not Mansoor Delane was worthy of such an early draft investment, fans can rest assured that the former LSU corner is the real deal. If anyone did make life difficult for Bowers on Sunday, it was Delane, a performer who has already proven to be an instinctual, physical player who is sticky in coverage and strong against the run. Delane is going to make the occasional rookie mistake, but he looks the part as a lockdown corner. Experience will only yield even greater results.
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