The Chiefs went to Oakland for the last time and came out victorious 28-10. After a rough start on both sides of the ball, the Chiefs rallied. The win over the Raiders improves their record to 2-0 and gives them sole ownership of the AFC West lead. Here are my five takeaways from the game:
Patrick Mahomes might not be 100%, but he’s still fantastic
There was some worry about how well Mahomes would do this week considering he suffered an ankle injury last week against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The thought was that his mobility would be limited and it would impact how he played. Mahomes ended up having a great game, turning in 443 yards passing and four touchdowns.
There was some concern in the first quarter because Mahomes and the offense weren’t clicking. He didn’t quite look like his usual self and had a few overthrows and disconnects with his receivers. The offense woke up and Mahomes had one of the greatest second-quarter performances of all time. He threw for 278 yards in the quarter, along with each of his four touchdown passes. There is nothing to worry about with Mahomes. Even if he’s not 100%, he is still playing as good as ever and still looks like the league MVP at quarterback.
Continue …
Life looks all right without Tyreek Hill
This is the second week in a row that a Chiefs wide receiver has led the league in receiving yards. Last week it was Sammy Watkins, while this week Demarcus Robinson had a career game. If Robinson didn’t make crucial plays to extend drives, things could have been completely different for the Chiefs against the Raiders.
Rookie wideout Mecole Hardman also had a great performance with four catches for 61 yards and a touchdown. He also had a long touchdown called back on a holding penalty, but it showed that he has the speed to beat defenders deep. It was great to see Hardman have a good game after not having a catch in his NFL debut. Hardman showed his world-class speed, outrunning the Raiders secondary for a 42-yard touchdown.
It’s safe to say that the Chiefs offense still going to be dynamic without Hill as the Chiefs have averaged 33 points without one of the most dangerous players in the NFL. I’m still taking Watkins, Robinson and Hardman over any secondary the Chiefs face this year.
Continue …
The defense looked better
After giving up 10 points on the Raiders’ first two drives, the Chiefs defense finally got it together and didn’t allow another point for the rest of the game. The secondary looked competent for the first time in a long time. Bashaud Breeland and Charvarius Ward both had interceptions, while overall the secondary had pretty good coverage against Derek Carr, holding him to a 61.1 passer rating. The Broncos gave up a passer rating of 121 to Carr in Week 1, so it’s good to see that the Chiefs caused more damage to Carr than another AFC West rival. The pressure on Carr was also a positive takeaway as the Chiefs had three sacks on the night and forced bad decisions.
Overall the defense played really well, but it can still be better. I would still keep an eye out for a possible trade as the Chiefs get ready to play some tougher competition such as the Packers, Patriots and Chargers. Hopefully, the defense continues to improve before playoffs and from the looks of it they are. Let’s just be happy that the defense allowed only 10 points for the first time since 2017.
Continue …
Tanoh Kpassagnon was a pleasant surprise
Although he may not have been a big part of the game, Kpassagnon had one sack and two tackles, one of which came on a crucial third down to help get the defense off the field after it struggled in the first quarter.
I was very happy to see Kpassagnon have a solid game, because he’s seen some adversity in his NFL career. There was some thought early in the offseason that he may not even make the team. Hopefully, we continue to see him improve this season, adding depth to an already stacked defensive line with Chris Jones, Frank Clark and Alex Okafor. Who knows — maybe as the season continues he could become a starter, especially if he continues to make big plays in big moments like he did against the Raiders.
Continue …
Don’t worry about the run game
I wouldn’t worry too much about the Chiefs not establishing the running game this week — they still put up 28 points — but those all came in the second quarter when Mahomes caught fire. If the Chiefs had a better run game, who knows how many points the offense could have put up, but with the NFL being the way it is today it’s totally acceptable to abandon the run game if it’s not working.
It could have been the game plan or the Chiefs being without starting LT Eric Fisher, but Damien Williams averaged less than a yard on nine carries, while McCoy had 23 yards on 11 carries. Hopefully, we see a better performance running the ball as the season continues because it will make the job for Mahomes that much easier and can help the team close out games. It’ll also be important in the playoffs and if the Chiefs have to deal with any bad weather late in the season.
Another thing to keep in mind is both Williams and McCoy were injured against the Raiders, so keep an eye out on the injury report this week. If those two aren’t available, we may see Darwin Thompson and Darrell Williams get the majority of the snaps against the Ravens.
Bonus: The Chiefs own Oakland
The Chiefs officially own the Oakland Raiders in Oakland. The Raiders move to Las Vegas next year and the Chiefs have a 22-20-1 record at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.
It will be interesting to see how the Chiefs-Raiders rivalry shapes as the Raiders move to a new city and stadium, but for now, the Chiefs own the winning record against a bitter rival on their own turf.
Go back …
