On Christmas Day, the Las Vegas Raiders pulled off an unexpected upset, defeating the division rival Kansas City Chiefs 20-14 on the road to maintain their hopes of making the playoffs.
In November or December, Antonio Pierce's defence handed Patrick Mahomes his first-ever division loss. They did it by limiting the Chiefs to 4.2 yards per play and forcing two turnovers, both of which resulted in touchdowns. Even though rookie quarterback Aidan O'Connell failed to complete a pass in the last three-quarters of the game, the Raiders managed to hold on for the victory.
They were able to accomplish this because of a defence that gave up just two scores on 11 drives by Kansas City and had two huge stops on fourth downs in the second half. With the victory, the Raiders maintain their position in both the AFC West and the AFC postseason races, giving each of these teams a huge stretch run.
The Chiefs looked terrible offensively the whole game, but they had a 7-3 lead late in the first half. During their first three drives, they gained just 10 yards on 11 plays; but, in the second quarter, they took the lead with a 10-play, 74-yard drive. And with five minutes remaining in the second quarter, they got the ball at their 13-yard line and had an opportunity to extend their lead.
But then something terrible happened. The Chiefs turned the ball over on consecutive plays, and the Raiders ran it into the end zone for a touchdown. Bilal Nichols recovered a fumble that was scooped and scored on the first of those two plays.
The Chiefs had attempted a trick play twice in a row when their last drive concluded with Isiah Pacheco impersonating a pitch back to Mahomes and sprinting around the edge to score. Unfortunately, the follow-up was not as popular.
That was bad enough, but then Jack Jones intercepted a curl route intended for Justin Watson on the right sideline, culminating in his second pick-six in as many weeks. Jones easily outran the receiver to the ball and raced up the sideline and into the end zone because Mahomes did not put nearly enough pressure on the throw.
That's how the Raiders went from trailing 7-3 to leading 17-7 in just SEVEN seconds of play. And for the rest of it, they would never give up that lead.
Why the Raiders won:
When it counted most, their defensive line came up with the two most crucial plays of the game, dominating the action from beginning to end. With four sacks and seven tackles for loss, Maxx Crosby, Malcolm Koonce, and company kept Mahomes off the field the entire time. Throughout the afternoon, the Chiefs' pass-catchers were hardly open, and the running game was nonexistent. It was just one of the season's top defensive performances. And that's not even taking into consideration the two defensive goals. Oh, and Zamir White, who gained 145 yards on 22 carries, did a fantastic job replacing Josh Jacobs.
Why the Chiefs lost:
They spent a good portion of the day with a completely ineffective offence. They were overwhelmed up front, they were unable to run the ball, and they gave up two defensive touchdowns. With one score and one interception, Mahomes finished the game averaging a pitiful 5.3 yards per attempt. Throughout the afternoon, the Chiefs only ran four plays longer than 13 yards. The ultimate score reflected the complete dominance of this unit.
Up Next:
After the win, the Raiders are 7-8 and, astonishingly, still have a chance to win the AFC West and the playoffs. They will win the division if they triumph and the Chiefs fail. Vegas's next two games are against Denver at home and at Indianapolis.
With the loss, the Chiefs are now 9-6 and out of the running for the AFC's top spot. With just one more win, they can still win the West, but it's very possible that they will need to win a road playoff game for the first time under Mahomes in order to make it to the Super Bowl. Next week, they will play host to the Bengals and, for the regular-season finale, travel to the Chargers.