LAS VEGAS — Yeah, that’s the best the Chiefs have looked all season. That’s their best game since last season’s AFC Championship Game, which is also the last time the Chiefs looked like the league’s best team.
This is the first time they’ve been in first place in the AFC West since Week 1. Only the Titans have more wins in the AFC.
The Chiefs beat the Raiders 41-14 here on Sunday Night Football, the NFL’s biggest regular-season stage, and for an image that told the story you could do worse than this:
Third and 2, the Raiders crowding the line of scrimmage, Patrick Mahomes drops back and sees Travis Kelce open for a beat but looks deeper for Tyreek Hill, who had a step on his man. Mahomes’ pass is a tight spiral that lands in Hill’s hands a yard or two before the sideline. Kelce stands in the middle of the field, proud, signaling first down.
You guys: This was the Chiefs, again and finally.
For one night, at least.
There will be qualifiers. Nothing is permanent in the NFL. Trends are lies, and seasons change with the winds, and you would not be the first to point out that while this Raiders team still has a winning record (5-4 now), they lost to the terrible Giants last week and a season of persistent and tragic drama might be catching up with them.
The Raiders also — and, sorry, we’re just following the rules of the narrative — didn’t play nearly as much Cover 2 as most of this season’s Chiefs opponents.
The Cowboys will present a stiffer challenge next week.
But here’s what we know: The Chiefs controlled both sides of the ball, including some playmaking on defense and some glimpses of their best on offense.
Travis Kelce had his most productive game in a month, with clean breaks off the line of scrimmage. Tyreek Hill was impossible to cover at times, particularly on crossing routes. Darrel Williams made every play that was presented to him, finishing with nine catches for 101 yards and a grown-man catch in the end zone on a YOLO throw that Mahomes would’ve been criticized for if it had a different outcome.
On defense, Melvin Ingram was again a problem for blockers, and Chris Jones did his usual damage. L’Jarius Sneed continues to play like a star.
Raiders quarterback Derek Carr made some terrific throws, but the old rule once again proved true: Pressure him consistently enough, and he panics. Daniel Sorensen high-pointed an interception on a bad decision by the Raiders QB, and Rashad Fenton punched out the ball after a long catch by Desean Jackson. Tyrann Mathieu picked it up.
The Chiefs’ defense gave up just 299 yards, and over the last five weeks — a substantial sample size by now — has surrendered an average of just 10.8 points per game.
The Chiefs spent more than half the season barely functioning, at least by the standard they set for themselves, and the AFC and specifically the AFC West did nothing about it. For more than two months now, the story in the AFC has been about a bunch of flawed teams in a pillow fight.
The Chiefs’ hope was that they would find their best in time to both get into and succeed in the playoffs.
But what if this game is the beginning of that best coming far quicker than most anyone would have imagined a week ago?
A reality check: if someone tells you the Chiefs are back, you should tell them not yet. Too soon.
But … you know … if the Chiefs were back, they would have played exactly like this.
