Black Friday advance: 3 things Chiefs can do to put away ‘inferior’ Raiders

Kansas City’s last four wins have come by a combined 18 points. In each of the Chiefs’ last three victories, they’ve won on the game’s last snap. And before that trio of stressful wins, in Week 8 on the road against the Raiders, they had to recover an onside kick at the two-minute warning to escape with a one-possession win. Patrick Mahomes and his dad bod aren’t getting any younger.

“You always want to have some blowouts and be a little calmer in the fourth quarter,” said Mahomes after last week’s 30-27 win at Carolina. “But I’ve always said it can be a good thing as you get to the playoffs and later in the season just knowing that you’ve been in those moments before. And knowing how to attack it, play by play, not making it too big of a moment. But, no, I would say, I would love to win a game not being on the very last play.”

And while their average margin of victory this season is just 6.1 points – sixth-lowest in the league but tops among teams who’ve won at least six games – it’s not a trend exclusive to 2024. Dating back to their Christmas Day loss at home to the Raiders in 2023, the Chiefs have seen 13 of their last 16 wins come down to one possession.

This week, longtime senior NFL writer Dan Pompei pointed out three areas in which the Chiefs (10-1) can put away an inferior opponent, beginning with their Black Friday Football contest against the Raiders (2-9) at Arrowhead Stadium (3 p.m. ET, Prime Video).

“For that to happen, their defense will need to play more like it did in late September/early October than it did in the last two weeks, when the Chiefs gave up 57 points,” wrote Pompei in a roundtable discussion Wednesday at TheAthletic.com. “It would also help if they could generate more pressure with their front four, and if wide receivers could get open, hang onto Mahomes’ passes and run after the catch to make some big plays.

Steve Spagnuolo’s defense allowed 30 points to Buffalo in Week 11, when the Bills’ snapped Kansas City’s 15-game winning streak. Then, the Chiefs allowed Bryce Young to have the best game of his career as the 3-8 Panthers erased an 11-point deficit in the second half last week. Prior to the last two weeks, the Chiefs hadn’t allowed as many as 57 points in consecutive games since Oct. 2-10, 2022.

Pressure with their front four has been the key deficiency, too. The Chiefs have an obvious game wrecker in Chris Jones, but opponents know that. The All-Pro defensive tackle hasn’t registered a sack since Week 4 and his three total are his fewest over this first 11 games since his 2016 rookie season. George Karlaftis and Mike Danna haven’t been winning one-on-one matchups at the line.

Another factor that affects he pass rush and doesn’t get a lot of attention is the injury to cornerback Jaylen Watson, likely lost for the season after a Week 7 fractured ankle. And earlier than that, L’Jarius Sneed signed with Tennessee in free agency. The compounded result has been forcing Trent McDuffie to play almost exclusively on the outside and not in the slot.

To Pompei’s other point, the Chiefs over their last two games have averaged just 4.7 yards after the catch per reception, 26th in the league.

The Raiders will start quarterback Aidan O’Connell after Gardner Minshew broke his collar bone and was lost for the season in last week’s game. Last Christmas, O’Connell started at Arrowhead and led the Raiders to a 20-14 win. Mahomes and the Chiefs never lost again en route to a second straight Super Bowl victory, and won 15 consecutive games until their Week 11 loss at Buffalo.

Friday’s game is significant for the Raiders. Should Las Vegas retain head coach Antonio Pierce, sources say Colorado head coach Deion Sanders considers his son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders, an excellent fit for the franchise, as first reported by ProFootballPost.com.

For more information on the Chiefs and Raiders, visit the Kansas City and Las Vegas team pages at ProFootballPost.com.