When introduced to new environments, certain stimuli can become much, much more intense. If you dump ice water on your head in 100-degree heat, it feels much more refreshing than if you do so in 10-degree temperatures. The same can be said for football rivalries. A 30-27 road win over the Raiders in recent years would have felt a bit humbling considering where the Silver and Black have been from a competitive standpoint, but the same final score being achieved on Sunday against a revitalized and unbeaten Raiders team felt like something we hadn't felt in quite some time in Chiefs Kingdom.
This rivalry perfectly embodies the intense passion that goes into long-standing professional sports rivalries. The hatred is real, even if it has seemed dormant for a few years. The Chiefs and Raiders have been battling for decades, and the matchups are that much more intense when both teams are actually good. Of course, it is early, and either team could fall by the wayside by January, but this felt different. It has been quite some time since the Raiders were even an early-season part of the broader NFL conversation, but they appear to be in it now, and Sunday's showdown at Arrowhead West did not disappoint, for the most part.
The anxiety that comes along with another three-point victory early in the season was on steroids considering the opponent. After all, Andy Reid has a sweat-equity-earned ownership stake in the Raiders from collecting pieces of their ass over the course of the last 14 years that may be larger than Tom Brady's. Patrick Mahomes could essentially consider them his fourth child with the informal level of custody he holds over the franchise. We're not exactly used to seeing these guys play close with this team, although it has happened before. And even though Creed Humphrey showed us his best Jackson Powers-Johnson impersonation late in the game, we eventually felt the sweet relief of a 4-0 start and an early one-game lead in the AFC West, and the thrill of being the only remaining AFC team unbeaten after the NFL's first month's worth of games.
When the schedule was released in May, a Week 5 bye felt far too early for the Chiefs. After all, there is still so much of the regular season left to be played, and injuries down the line could prove extraordinarily costly with no remaining breathing room schedule-wise. But now? It almost feels fitting. Like the appetizer portion of the meal was just right, we've finished our initial libations and are waiting for the wine and main courses to come out. A 4-0 start helps aid in that sentiment, but we all know there is still a lot to be determined when it comes to the fate of the 2026 Chiefs. On to the overreactions that will carry us through the bye week.
The hatred for the Raiders is all the way back
How can I not start here? I alluded to it at the top, but there has almost been a level of complacency that has replaced the space the Raiders used to occupy in our collective consciousness. They have been so irrelevant for so long that it's almost like they didn't really exist. When the franchise left Oakland, they left behind a large part of their maverick, deviant persona in exchange for one that was far more derelict. The stepchildren became orphans, and in the process asserted themselves as an afterthought, as oxymoronic as that sounds.
The continued semi-competence of the Chargers, along with the re-emergence of the Broncos for a cup of coffee in 2025, created an emphasis for Chiefs fans on those two rivalries being the primary divisional focal point for the team over the course of the majority of the dynastic years. The Raiders did put forth adorable efforts to be competitive with Derek Carr that ultimately always ended the same way, with Carr's mascara running on the sideline after throwing yet another late interception.
While the Raiders may not be a juggernaut with Kirk Cousins at quarterback, they are certainly better. I absolutely hate that, but I love that I have to think about it again. Football is better when we have a real sense of hatred for the Raiders in our hearts. We're talking about the scummiest, most devoid-of-character franchise that has ever existed in professional sports. How did we forget about this? Raiders fans are the types that would steal your sweet grandmother's purse just to go buy face paint and a carton of Pall Mall Reds.
The Klint Kubiak comments before halftime, the hip-drop tackle on Tyquan Thornton, the mere presence of that hideous color scheme being adorned by the worst fans in any sport on our televisions. How can you not hate this team? In "The New Colossus," Emma Lazarus gave a voice to the Statue of Liberty, saying, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." Conversely, outside of the old Oakland Coliseum, there was apparently a banner that read, "Give me your probably too drunk, your greasy, your grown men with toddler-level emotional regulation skills yearning to start fist fights in bleachers." That's how the Raiders fan base was born. Look it up.
Everything about this franchise is the worst, and I am glad we can acknowledge that again. They were such an afterthought for so long that it's nice having them back, at least for now, as a somewhat relevant piece of the NFL puzzle. That is until Tom Brady gets popped for some sort of tampering violation and Mark Davis makes a career pivot to being a P.F. Chang's franchisee, leaving the ownership group in shambles for Stan Kroenke to swoop in and move them to London. But until then, and even with a 3-0 start, their second in 24 years (lol), the Chiefs reminded them who the fathers of the AFC West still are.
The Chiefs special teams are seemingly gaslighting us
Am I losing my mind? The Chiefs, once again, created infuriating moment after infuriating moment with their special teams unit on Sunday. Penalties, penalties, penalties. Not just from poor play; this time, we got one for illegal formation on a field goal block! That's new. The team is comically bad at returning kickoffs, so much so that it's making me feel personal disdain toward Nikko Remigio. I'm sure he's a great guy, and it looks like his partner can really cook, but I'm getting tired of watching Mahomes and the offense start on their own 15. And while I'm on it, fake fair catches are illegal. Dave Toub should have covered that, but honestly, who knows.
Nearly every aspect of special teams functionality seems, well, non-functional at times. The team being in Vegas was fitting this week, as numerous times when the cameras panned to Dave Toub on the sideline, he had the look of a man who had gambled an amount of money he can't afford to lose on a game that he doesn't remotely understand.
So how is it that, in the same ranting breath that I just used to question the competency of a group of professional athletes and coaches who have forgotten more about special teams than I will ever know, I am in awe of how clutch the Chiefs' special teams were at times on Sunday? Matt Araiza is a gift from the football gods, pinning the Raiders at the 0.5-yard line late in the game. The absolute balls of steel from Dave Toub to call the fake punt early in the game, in a game where the Raiders did the exact opposite when presented with a similar situation. The punch-out by Jeffrey Bassa and the recovery of that late fumble by the much-maligned Jack Cochrane.
These guys are toying with our emotions and creating some sort of twisted perception complex for the entire fan base. Do we love them or hate them? Maybe we'll never know. But as long as plays like those continue to get made and Harrison Butker remains clutch and a part of the unit (both seem inevitable), then I guess they can stay.
L'Jarius Sneed is officially a liability no matter how much we love him
Hear me out here. I love LJ as much as anyone. The nostalgia for what he's done for this franchise is not lost on me. The reunion seemed like, at minimum, a neutral-to-good idea when the team brought him back over the summer. Sure, there were question marks about his overall health, durability, and whether or not he had lost a step. But he's a dog, he's a Chiefs playoff legend, and something about the Kansas City air would surely make him an effective player again, right?
It sure as hell looked like it in Week 1 against Denver. Sneed was all over the Broncos' wide receivers, including their new toy Jaylen Waddle. It felt like 2023 all over again. The constant pressure, getting in opponents' heads as much as their hip pockets, locking down the slot and forcing a quarterback who is a checkdown merchant to try to move the ball down the field vertically. It was beautiful. It was a breath of fresh air. It was temporary.
Sneed has looked more like the player that fans in Nashville sometimes saw during his time with the Titans in the last three games than what Chiefs fans are accustomed to seeing from No. 38. He has been slow. He has been getting beat by slot receivers and tight ends alike. He has been a liability in coverage. Now, we were a couple of inches away from seeing another one of his Spider-Man-esque deflections at the line of scrimmage while blitzing on Sunday, but those moments are getting both fewer and further between as we get into the season.
Sneed's true value with the Chiefs this time around, though, isn't going to be as an All-Pro player on the field. It is, and likely has always been intended to be, as an All-Pro mentor. It is evident that guys like Nohl Williams, Jaden Hicks, and Mansoor Delane have adopted a bit of Sneed's mentality just from being around him for a few months. The mindset of the defensive backfield appears to be much, much different than it had been with the previous cast and crew of Chiefs defenders. These guys are a nasty bunch, and as they continue to gel, they will be a force to be reckoned with. Whether or not Sneed is a huge piece of that on the field remains to be seen, but he will, without question, be a catalyst for the group's success in the locker room and in film sessions, no matter how many steps he loses.
The Tyquan Thornton injury is more debilitating than we think
We've all, unfortunately, seen injuries like Tyquan Thornton's happen in football. It is one of the worst parts of the game and something that genuinely gives me pause in wanting my son to play football. That's a jarring thing to see on a television screen or in person. Obviously, we wish him a speedy recovery and need to acknowledge that the real concern here is for the player ahead of the implications the injury has on the roster.
But man, oh man, does this have some huge roster implications. Thornton was the Chiefs' best receiver through four weeks. I don't care what you want to show me about production, receptions, whatever. Mahomes was looking for that man, and he was starting to find him. He's the only wideout currently employed by the team who can effectively catch a football with his hands, something wide receivers are largely expected to be able to do at a high level in the NFL.
Of course, Brett Veach will look to make a move. Tyreek Hill probably still has a house in KC, but he may not have two functional legs (very important). There are other options, which are being documented elsewhere on this site. I'm not here to give you a technical breakdown of all of the strings the team can pull, as you likely well know if you've read my nonsense before. But from a football standpoint, as it stands right now, the Chiefs have zero vertical threat in their passing offense. That, my friends, is not a good place to be when you have Patrick Mahomes at quarterback.
What the Chiefs cannot afford to do is lose another year of Mahomes' prime because they refuse to make the big move. No matter whether that move is proactive or reactive—in this case, it's very reactive—it must be done. The Chiefs are equipped to run the football now more than ever with the way Kenneth Walker and Emmett Johnson are playing, but that will get sniffed out quickly with 13 games left to go. What the running game does do, though, is give some runway (no pun intended) for a new wideout to come in, learn the system, and not have to be a huge contributor right off the bat.
The team is in a perfect position to slowly assimilate a new player (or players) into the system without creating some sort of complex confidence-wrecking scenario for whomever they add. Games may be a little ugly for the first few weeks out of the bye. Some low-scoring affairs with not many shots downfield. But if the front office pulls the right strings, the train will keep rolling. This team feels a little different than any we've seen the last few years: resilient, gritty, and undeniably together.
Add us as a preferred source on Google