The Chiefs dominated the Raiders in all three phases on Sunday
By Matt McMullen – Chiefs.com Reporter
The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Las Vegas Raiders, 31-0, in dominant fashion on Sunday afternoon for their fourth victory in their last five games. It was Kansas City’s first regular-season shutout since 2011, and the Chiefs’ first shutout overall (including the playoffs) since 2015.
“Great win…There are all kinds of good stats to go over. I’m not sure I can cover them all,” said Head Coach Andy Reid. There are a lot of people that played really well. I’m proud of them for that. Coming off of an emotional win against the Lions, and then coming into this thing and playing with the energy that we played with [was big].”
The Chiefs found the end zone on each of their first four possessions on Sunday while the defense held Las Vegas to just three first downs across the entirety of the matchup, marking the fewest first downs for a team in a regular-season game since 2008.
Kansas City outgained Las Vegas by a mark of 434 to 95 behind another excellent performance from quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who completed 26-of-35 passes for 286 yards and three touchdowns on Sunday.
Mahomes spread the football all over the place, too, finding nine different receivers for completions on the day. His favorite target was wide receiver Rashee Rice, who – in his season-debut – caught seven passes for 42 yards and two touchdowns.
“It was great to have him back. I think you saw the trust that Pat has in him, which is so important,” Reid said. “I thought the whole receiving crew did a nice job, but it was great to have him in there. The energy that he brings is tremendous.”
Rice led the way for an offensive effort that piled up 30 first downs and began the game 8-of-9 on third down, ultimately scoring at least 28 points for the fourth week in a row.
The defense, meanwhile, held the Raiders to 0-of-7 on third down and under 100 total yards of offense for the afternoon. For context, the Chiefs scored more points (31) than the Raiders ran offensive plays (30).
“When the offense scores a lot of points, it puts us in position to do what we do best, and that’s rush the passer,” said defensive tackle Chris Jones. “I think it’s a testament to our preparation throughout the week and the way we’ve been practicing. We’ve been homing in on preparation…We were able to show [that in] this game.”
It all helped the Chiefs win their fourth game in the last five weeks, and for the first time this season, Kansas City owns a winning record heading into Week 8.
“Obviously, our record is still not where we want it to be, but you can see from the offense [and] defense [that] we’ve had bright moments this season, and now it seems like we’re coming together as a team,” Mahomes said. “We’re still early, and we have everything out in front of us. [It’s now about] how can we be better this next week going up against a good football team.”
In terms of injuries, offensive guard Trey Smith (back), defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott (knee) and offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor (shoulder) left Sunday’s game early and did not return.
Speaking on Norman-Lott specifically, Coach Reid said that the rookie defensive tackle will undergo an MRI to determine the severity of the injury.
The Chiefs will now turn the page to a matchup with the Washington Commanders on Monday Night Football coming up next week.
