In near-upset, Raiders exploit soft underbelly in Chiefs’ tackles

Aidan O’Connell fearlessly moved the Raiders into position to kick a game-ending field goal before a mind-blowing botched snap. A few seconds later, DJ Khaled’s lyrics echoed over the Arrowhead Stadium PA system. All the Chiefs do is win.

Kansas City (11-1) became the earliest team to clinch a playoff berth during the league-merger era with a shocking 19-17 victory over Las Vegas (2-10). In the process, the Chiefs extended their winning streak in one-possession games to 14. Including postseason, that’s the longest stretch in league history.

And the Chiefs should be scared to death. Across the AFC on Friday afternoon, edge-rushers and defensive coordinators were jumping off their couches watching Maxx Crosby and K’Lavon Chaisson lead a five-sack effort in domination of the Kansas City tackles. The Chiefs have allowed 18 sacks over their last four games, including five in each of the last two — the most they’ve ever allowed of Patrick Mahomes over a two-game span (10). With five games left, Mahomes has already been sacked 27 times; opponents sacked him only 27 times all of last season, 26 the year before.

“We just hold ourselves to such a high standard,” Mahomes said after the win. “We don’t feel like we’re playing our best football. We have to find a way to build up to play great; a full, entire team. It’s awesome that we’re finding ways to get wins. That’s what you’re going for. But our goal is to get to the Super Bowl.”

That goal seems far-fetched for a team that still has to face premier pass-rushers Joey Bosa, Myles Garrett, Danielle Hunter, Will Anderson, T.J. Watt and Nik Bonitto before the Chiefs even get to the postseason. In fact, head coach Andy Reid and line coach Andy Heck benched left tackle Wanya Morris in the fourth quarter, replacing him with guard Joe Thuney and bringing Mike Caliendo off the bench to replace Thuney.

“Yeah, Wanya was struggling a little bit, so I moved Joe over there, Caliendo in at guard,” said Reid after the game. “I thought it was the right thing to do at that time. Talked to Andy about it and he agreed with it. So, we made that move just to solidify things. Pat took a few hits there, and so we were struggling at times.

“It’s disruptive in any offense if the quarterback is getting hit and not able to get the ball off. That can be a problem. Listen, we’re playing against a couple of good players, but you’ve got to do better than we did. Penalties are killers and the sacks were killers.”

Kansas City signed free agent left tackle D.J. Humphries earlier this week. The veteran is fully recovered from ACL surgery that ended his 2023 season. Pencil him into the starting lineup next Sunday night at Arrowhead against Bosa, Tuli Tuipulotu and the Chargers.

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