Raiders' defense does all the work versus Chiefs in first half

The Las Vegas Raiders are backing up the trash talk they chose to talk earlier this week with a 16-7 lead in the second quarter at Arrowhead Stadium in Week 16 in an important game for postseason implications for both rivals.

Coming into the game, the Raiders needed a win just to stay alive—even minimally—for any playoff slot. For the Chiefs, they entered Week 16 with a chance to claim an eighth consecutive division title. As it turns out, the Chiefs have looked pathetic on offense so far and have slipped to a 10-point deficit in the first half after watching the Raiders score two touchdowns on defense on back to back plays.

The Chiefs offense came into the game looking pathetic on back-to-back drives in which the team put up a negative-18 yards of offense—yes that's nearly a backwards first down on each of the first two opening drives. The team committed penalties and quarterback Patrick Mahomes was frustrated by Maxx Crosby and the Raiders' pass rush.

The good news for the Chiefs was that the defense came to play and kept the Raiders from putting anything together themselves. So far on the day, the Raiders have only managed a field goal on offense. However, the offense is undoing any effort on that side of the ball with more first-half misery.

The Raiders first touchdown on defense came shortly after the Raiders were forced to punt the ball back to the Chiefs with only five minutes before the half. Isiah Pacheco took a direct snap and fumbled the ball and Bilal Nichols of the Raiders picked the ball up for an easy scoop and score.

From there, the Chiefs got the ball back after Daniel Carlson kicked off for the Raiders and Mahomes sent back for the first pass. That's when cornerback Jack Jones came up with a pick-six of Patrick Mahomes on the very next play.

Just like that, the Chiefs had to take the field again, heads hung low after putting up only 64 total yards of offense on their previous drives. The good news is that the game is hardly out of reach since the Raiders offense has been just about as anemic as the Chiefs.