KANSAS CITY, Mo. — — Monday night, the Kansas City Chiefs entered the locker room trailing by a large margin against their longstanding AFC West opponents, the Las Vegas Raiders. Everything, from the big plays to the officiating, went in favour of their longtime rivals.
One call, in particular, ignited their passion.
Chris Jones had a questionable penalty for roughing Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, and no one in the Kansas City locker room could believe it. Patrick Mahomes and the rest of the Chiefs utilised the 10-point deficit as an incentive to rally for a 30-29 victory instead of dwelling on or lamenting it.
Mahomes, who threw four touchdown passes to tight end Travis Kelce, stated, “There was fury over how we had performed up to that point.” Everyone had to go out there and engage the enemy in combat.
Davante Adams, who had already caught a touchdown pass of 58 yards, added a pass of 48 yards with 4:29 remaining, giving the Raiders hope. After Kelce’s final touchdown reception, Kansas City missed a 2-point attempt, leaving the score at 30-23. Instead of attempting a tie-breaking extra point, Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels opted for two points.
Josh Jacobs, who had torn apart the Chief’s defence all evening, was stopped short of the end zone.
With 2:29 remaining, the Raiders regained possession, and a big third-down pass to Adams down the Kansas City sideline appeared to put them within field-goal range. The play was reviewed, and it was determined that Adams did not have both feet in bounds. Carr fired an incomplete pass on fourth-and-1 with 47 seconds remaining before the Chiefs ran out the clock.
Chiefs safety Justin Reid remarked, “We didn’t break apart on each other.” We persevered through adversity.
Carr threw for 241 yards, and Jacobs rushed for 133 yards and a touchdown, but the Raiders dropped their fourth consecutive game to the Chiefs (4-1). Daniel Carlson made three consecutive field goals, extending his streak to 38.
What would he have done for a shot at No. 39?
Daniels stated, “We had a chance.” We simply failed to make one or two plays to close the game.
The Raiders failed to score on their first drive for the first time in the whole season.
They made amends on the subsequent attempt.
McDaniels put his offence back onto the field when they faced fourth-and-inches in their territory. Instead of running Jacobs up the middle or sneaking with Carr, he threw to Adams, who sprinted by Rashad Fenton for a 58-yard touchdown reception.
Later in half, Adams and the Raiders continued to target Fenton, and a pass interference penalty took Las Vegas deep into Chiefs territory. Adams earned a foul against Jaylen Watson in the end zone, paving the way for Jacobs’ short touchdown plunge.
Kelce ultimately scored for the Chiefs to make the score 17-0, but the momentum appeared to have shifted when Jones stripped Carr of the ball and tackled him. Referee Carl Cheffers tossed a penalty flag and cited Jones for roughing the passer, even though the ball came out and the Pro Bowl defensive lineman recovered it.
Andy Reid, head coach of the Chiefs, stormed off the bench to dispute. And after the teams exchanged field goals in the final minutes, leaving the Raiders with a 20-10 lead, Reid confronted Cheffers as the teams entered the locker room and continued his tirade.
“I’ve gotten it off my chest,” Reid declared. “I said what was necessary.”
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The Buccaneers’ victory over the Falcons was secured the day before by another controversial roughing call by referee Jerome Boger on Atlanta’s Grady Jarrett against Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady.
Cheffers informed a pool reporter that Carr “receives complete protection in all facets of our quarterback passing position.” Therefore, when he was tackled, I ruled that the defender fell with full body weight.”
“It wasn’t the best call in the world,” admitted Mahomes. You must find a way to recover, and we did.”
Did they?
Kelce’s second touchdown reception capped a 75-yard march that began the second half for the Chiefs. After forcing a quick punt, the Chiefs drove 57 yards, and Kelce caught his third reception to give Kansas City a 24-20 lead.
Midway into the fourth quarter, a penalty gift was given to the Chiefs.
They had a 24-23 lead when substitute kicker Matthew Wright, whose 59-yard field goal before halftime established a team record for the longest field goal, missed a 37-yard attempt to the left. However, defensive end Malcolm Koonce was flagged for holding, granting Kansas City an automatic first down. Four plays later, Mahomes connected with Kelce again to extend the advantage to 30-24.
The teams exchanged touchdowns and failed conversions down the stretch, with the Chiefs emerging victorious.
Carr stated, “We’re close, but close doesn’t matter in this game.” “It’s aggravating.
INJURIES
Raiders: TE In the first half, Darren Waller exited with a hamstring injury. TE Foster Moreau (knee) was ruled out despite his return to practice on Saturday.
Chiefs: DT The left ACL of Tershawn Wharton was torn early in the game. OL Trey Smith was sidelined after starting his first 21 career games due to a pectoral muscle injury. DE Mike Danna (calf) and K Harrison Butker (ankle) were both inactive due to injury.
