It won’t be easy for the Raiders to snap their three-game losing streak when they return home to Allegiant Stadium on Sunday.
Their opponent, the Chiefs, is the NFL’s last undefeated team at 6-0. Here are three things to know about the Raiders’ hated AFC West rival:
1. Not the same-old Kansas City
The Chiefs’ record is as impressive as ever. But this team is different than the ones Kansas City has rolled out for most of the Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes era.
It’s winning with defense.
Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s unit has been controlling games and keeping opponents off the field. The Chiefs have allowed their foes to convert just 12 of their 43 third downs the last four games.
One of the secrets to Kansas City’s third-down success is how good it’s been against the run. The Chiefs are allowing just 90.5 yards per game on the ground, the fourth-fewest in the NFL.
That has forced teams into plenty of third-and-longs against Kansas City and let its defense pin its ears back. It’s been a successful formula. The Chiefs are giving up just 17.2 points per game, the fifth-fewest in the NFL.
2. Bad blood
There’s been plenty of tension between the two teams since their rivalry began in 1960. But there’s been some wild moments recently, such as the Chiefs celebrating a Super Bowl title in the Raiders’ locker room at Allegiant Stadium in February and rookie safety Trey Taylor picking up a Mahomes puppet a fan threw onto the field in training camp.
Coach Antonio Pierce even alluded to having “Mahomes Rules” last year, like the “Jordan Rules” the Detroit Pistons had for their matchups with Michael Jordan. Pierce declined to revisit that topic Friday, but did admit there’s something special about this week.
“It’s not another game. It’s a rivalry game,” Pierce said. “It’s the team in red.”
Pierce said all the off-field animosity between the two teams won’t matter once the game kicks off Sunday. Then it becomes about the Raiders proving they can hang with the two-time defending Super Bowl champions, like they did their last meeting.
They won 20-14 in Kansas City on Christmas Day. The Chiefs haven’t lost since.
“To be a rivalry, it’s got to be even,” Pierce said. “It’s been one way. And we were fortunate to win that game last year by the way we played and guys having full-out effort for 60 minutes and playing the style of football that we wanted to play. But when you look at the history of this game, and over the last 10 years, it’s been dominated by the Chiefs. … We got to play a Raider brand of football. And if we can do that, I think we give ourselves a chance.”
3. Stop Mahomes
Mahomes hasn’t put up amazing numbers this season. But he’s still incredibly dangerous, especially when he extends plays.
The Raiders’ plan against Mahomes will be similar to the one they had against Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson in Week 2.
They tried to keep Jackson in the pocket and force him to make throws from there.
“The longer that (Mahomes) has the ball in his hand, the worse that is for us, obviously,” Pierce said. “But we got to do a good job of containing. He likes to step up, then go lateral. Then this year, he’s been doing a really good job running and getting extra yards.”
The Raiders need to be careful when Mahomes takes off.
He tends to get tricky near the sidelines. He often makes it appear as if he’s about to step out of bounds, only to gain a few extra yards when defenders slow up to avoid a potential penalty.
“If his feet are on the green, he’s live,” Pierce said. “He touches the white, leave him alone. So, we talked about that this week.”
Mahomes has run for 122 yards and 10 first downs this year. Plus, he’s still one of the NFL’s best passers and has tight end Travis Kelce to throw to.
The Chiefs got Mahomes a new weapon this week by acquiring wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins from the Titans. Kansas City’s running game has also looked rejuvenated behind running back Kareem Hunt.
Contact Adam Hill at [email protected]. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.
