On the eve of the final Raiders week of the 2020 NFL regular season, we’re taking a look back at one of the best performances by a Chiefs legend that happened against their most bitter AFC West rival. It came at the start of the Andy Reid era, with the Raiders still playing in Oakland.
On December 15, 2013, Kansas City’s finest traveled to the black hole for their final game against the Raiders of the 2013 season. After starting off the season with nine-straight wins, the Chiefs had dropped three of their last four games. This game was particularly important for K.C. because they could clinch their first playoff berth since 2010 with a win.
The game would turn into a bit of a shootout between Alex Smith and Matt McGloin. Thankfully, former Chiefs RB Jamaal Charles was in rare form, notching one of the best games of his career.
Charles, shockingly, wasn’t even the leading rusher on his own team. He recorded just eight carries for 20 yards and a rushing touchdown and was outrushed by Knile Davis. Charles was, however, unguardable in the passing game, recording eight receptions for 195 yards and four touchdowns. For the mathematically challenged, that’s a whopping 24.4 yards per reception.
The Raiders had no answer for Charles and because of that, Smith kept dumping the ball off to him in the passing game. Charles became the only player in NFL history to record four receiving touchdowns and one rushing touchdown in a single game. He also became the first player in Kansas City to have five touchdowns in a single game since Abner Haynes accomplished the feat back in the 1960s.
Hopefully, the Chiefs can channel some of Charles’ energy when they travel to Las Vegas to face the Raiders in Week 11. They’ll need to be in rare form to notch a win after their rivals got the best of them the first time around.
