Raiders could cure what’s ailing the Chiefs these days
It’s somewhat odd when the Kansas City Chiefs lose a game. That only happened three times in 20 overall contests a season ago, when the team rallied to beat the Eagles, 38-35, in Super Bowl LVII.
Entering Sunday’s appearance at Las Vegas, Andy Reid’s club has dropped two of its last three contests. They opened up a 17-7 lead on Philadelphia Monday night. For the third straight game, the Chiefs failed to put a point on the scoreboard in the second half. The 21-17 loss was the second setback in three games.
This is a better defensive team than it was a year ago. However, there are surprisingly some questions on the other side of the ball.
This season, Reid’s team was 7-3, has totaled 225 points and the offense has reached the end zone just 23 times. After 10 games in 2022, the Chiefs had won eight of their 10 games. They totaled an even 300 points and their offensive unit totaled 36 touchdowns.
Sunday, the Chiefs are in Sin City to battle their longtime divisional rivals. If recent history holds true, it could not come at a better time for the AFC West frontrunners.
Reid is in his 11th season as head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. The previous 10 years, he faced the Raiders a total of 20 times and owns a 17-3 record in the series. The past five seasons, his starting quarterback in 10 of those games was Patrick Mahomes. It’s safe to say that the two-time Super Bowl MVP has enjoyed his encounters with the Silver and Black, be it at Arrowhead Stadium, Oakland or Las Vegas.
The numbers are scintillating. Mahomes has connected on 65.6 percent of his throws vs. the Raiders. It’s added up to 3,040 yards and 27 touchdowns through the air, with only three interceptions. He’s also run for 191 yards and a pair of scores. In those games, nine of which resulted in victories, the Chiefs have scored at least 28 points in each outing. It adds up to an even 360 points, obviously an average of 36.0 points per game.
It will be interesting to see if the reigning Super Bowl champions can get their offensive act together at the expense of the Raiders. Plenty of questions will certainly be raised if they don’t come away with a comfortable victory.