Big brother gets revenge over little brother after Christmas Day fiasco in 2023! The Kansas City Chiefs are finding unique and inventive ways to get it done and complete the mission this season. Friday’s sequence of events was different than all the rest.
The Las Vegas Raiders had a chance to steal the game on the road at Arrowhead Stadium and were in field goal range with less than 20 seconds remaining on the clock, and they were doing everything they could to get closer. Rookie center Jackson Powers-Johnson then snapped to quarterback Aidan O’Connell in shotgun formation before he was ready, and it hit him in the chest. The Chiefs fell on the ball and after a long huddle and discussion between the officials, they ultimately ruled that the Chiefs had recovered the fumble. Game over. Chiefs win 19-17.
“I actually didn’t watch,” Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said of the fateful play. “That last play there was a lot going on, from the officiating to the flags to the ball being snapped.”
After the game, Powers-Johnson stepped up and took responsibility for the costly mistake, saying it was a miscommunication between he and O’Connell.
Likewise, O’Connell took accountability, saying: “it was completely my fault. I was looking out to right, making sure guys were set and I started clapping. In my head I was thinking signal the ball to get the ball, but when I start clapping it tells Jackson, basically, snap the ball. Jackson did exactly what he should have done and I clapped too early.”
Kansas City is not playing up to their championship standards. However, they are taking care of business and are doing just enough to get by, and the team seems to find a way to win close games over weaker opponents every week. Shockingly, that has been good enough for an 11-1 record, which leads the AFC. The Chiefs looked a step slow, almost as if they were bored with the regular season yet again on Friday, but as usual they found a way to win. This time it was holding off the Raiders, who are now a woeful 2-10.
Like many of them, including last week’s last-second win over Carolina, the Chiefs seemed to be in no mood to celebrate.
“I mean, we just hold ourselves to such a high standard. We don’t feel like we’re playing our best football,” Mahomes said. “We have to find a way to build up to play great (as) 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.”
The Chiefs are now the first team this season to clinch a playoff berth, which is their 10th consecutive, the second longest streak in NFL history, but their issues are real and cannot be swept under the rug. Their offensive tackles are weighing them down and struggling badly. The offensive skill-position talent is good but they do not scare anyone due to their lack of speed with the exception of Xavier Worthy, who is an unreliable rookie.
The defense, on the other hand, has done its job for the most part but has fallen short of what it was a year ago.
And despite all of that, the Chiefs are 11-1. And as we all witnessed last season, when it comes down to it and the games matter most in January, the Chiefs’ problems that plagued them throughout the 17-game regular season just seem to disappear without a trace once the postseason starts and they are marching to another Super Bowl. But they should not include barely beating teams like the Raiders who are going through a rebuild.
“The win was a positive here. These things are hard to get, especially against this crew,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “They do a nice job against us it seems every time we play them. It comes right down to the end.”
Early on, the game seemed to be on a silver platter and there for the taking for the Raiders. They just kept coughing up opportunity after opportunity.
The Raiders were able to move the ball well enough up and down the field but could not cash in and complete drives on the Chiefs’ side of the field. Place kicker Daniel Carlson missed two long field goal attempts. The Raiders, one of the worst rushing teams in the NFL over the last several years, also got pushed back on a fourth-and-1 handoff at the Chiefs’ 31.
Late in the third quarter, right before O’Connell took a crucial 15-yard sack that led to Carlson missing another field goal, the Raiders were outgaining the Chiefs. And they trailed by double-digits, 13-3.
Finally, the Raiders made a move. Ameer Abdullah had a long kickoff return and then electric rookie tight end Brock Bowers out of the University of Georgia, had a great touchdown reception from 33 yards out. The Raiders trailed 16-10.
Once again, the back-to-back champion Chiefs were in a dog fight that no one saw coming against one of the worst teams in the NFL. Then play time was over and things got down right serious as the Raiders took a fourth-quarter lead.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, O’Connell threw deep down the left sideline. Tre Tucker got behind the Chiefs secondary and caught a 58-yard bomb for a score that gave the Raiders a one-point lead and gave everyone a jolt.
At that moment, eight seconds into the fourth quarter, the Raiders had outplayed the Chiefs. At Arrowhead Stadium. With O’Connell returning from injury to play his first game in over a month.
The Chiefs started to put together a drive into Raiders’ territory, though that eventually stalled when both tackles were beaten on a third-and-goal play and Kansas City settled for a field goal and a 19-17 advantage. Mahomes was visibly frustrated after that play and could not maintain his composure, and on the ensuing series veteran guard Joe Thuney replaced Wanya Morris at left tackle. That is a situation the Chiefs disparately need to address before the playoffs.
The Raiders had a shot to take a late lead. They drove into Chiefs territory in the final minutes. But with just over two minutes left, not facing a decent option on fourth-and-11, Carlson tried a 58-yard field goal and was well short for his third miss of the day. Carlson has been one of the most reliable and best kickers in the NFL over his career, but the Chiefs caught him on what might have been his worst day as a pro.
And because the Chiefs could not put the game away, the Raiders had one last chance. Bowers had a huge 25-yard catch down the middle to get the Raiders close to field-goal range, and then Jakobi Meyers and Ameer Abdullah made catches to get Las Vegas even closer. But the Raiders botched the shotgun snap, the Chiefs fell on it and the game was over just like that.
The play call came in late, and with the play clock winding down, O’Connell started clapping almost as soon as the huddle broke for the snap to come quickly. The left guard tapped Powers-Johnson, who snapped it before O’Connell was ready. It bounced off O’Connell and the Chiefs fell on it to end the game.
The Chiefs have not played well for much of the season. But their record is still almost perfect, because of their championship DNA.
The Raiders travel to Tampa Bay on December 8 to face Mike Evans and the Buccaneers.
The Chiefs welcome the Los Angeles Chargers and Khalil Mack on December 8.
