Chiefs 19, Raiders 7: Halftime observations on the offense and more

The Chiefs offense scored 19 first-half points against the Oakland Raiders in Oakland Alameda Coliseum on Sunday. However — and it’s likely a sign of their offensive brilliance this season — the offense and quarterback Patrick Mahomes seemed somewhat out of sync early on.

Mahomes finished the half 13-of-18 for 160 yards passing and two touchdowns. Mahomes has held the ball more often than during in other games this season. He’s also thrown a lot on the run: through designed roll-outs and because he scrambled to buy time.

Mahomes only targeted wide receiver Tyreek Hill once in the first half. He missed Gehrig Dieter on an open pass up the sideline for a potential big gain. Wide receiver Chris Conley only has one catch for five yards, though he drew a pass interference penalty that set up the team’s first touchdown.

Kelce bounces back

Travis Kelce left the Monday Night Football loss to the LA Rams with a strong disappointment about how he played because of a couple dropped passes and a critical blocking assignment he felt he should’ve executed better.

It sure looked like things were going to snowball on him early on against the Raiders. He made a one-handed catch on the first play from scrimmage in the game, but he fumbled after a gain of 24 yards. The Raiders, who won the toss and deferred possession to the second half, got the ball at their own 44 with a potentially huge early momentum swing.

The defense picked him up by getting a stop, and the Chiefs responded by marching 65 yards on two plays (plus a penalty), and Kelce capped the first scoring drive with a 1-yard touchdown catch to match his career high with eight touchdown receptions. He caught eight touchdown passes in 2017.

Kelce also bounced back from a vicious shot to the ribs from safety Reggie Nelson on a 25-yard catch over the middle on the final scoring drive of the first half. Kelce popped up quickly, but then hunched over apparently in pain moments later. He came off to the field, but he returned almost immediately to haul in a pass that put him over 1,000 yards receiving. He also capped that drive with a 6-yard touchdown catch.

Matching personnel

After not starting for the first time all season against the LA Rams, Chiefs inside linebacker Reggie Ragland returned to the starting lineup and played a significant amount of the first-half snaps. The Chiefs opted to go with rookie linebacker Dorian O’Daniel, a hybrid linebacker who excels at pass coverage, against the Rams. The Rams use a personnel grouping with one running back, one tight end and three wide receivers more frequently than any team in the NFL. The Chiefs matched up against that personnel grouping with their nickel package which included O’Daniel at linebacker.

Ragland spoke about his lack of playing time this past week in the Chiefs locker room, and he said all the “right” things about wanting to do whatever the team thinks is best and what will help win.

The Raiders use myriad of formations and personnel groups including two tight end and/or two running backs, and that paved the way for Ragland to garner more playing time. Ragland played just eight snaps against the Rams.

By committee

The Chiefs used the duo of Spencer Ware and Damien Williams to carry the running back load left by Kareem Hunt in the first half after the team waived Hunt. The two combined for 28 rushing yards on eight carries in the half. The longest run of the half came courtesy of wide receiver Tyreek Hill on an end around on their second possession of the game. The second-longest run of the half came courtesy of quarterback Patrick Mahomes, a 28-yard scramble out of the pocket.

There and gone

Outside linebacker Dee Ford’s sack of Raiders quarterback Derek Carr on third-and-9 in the first quarter match Ford’s career high for sacks in a season with 10. Or did it? Ford’s sack got switched later in the half to a half sack shared with Allen Bailey. Ford’s career-high of 10 sacks came in 2016, and he temporarily matched that in the first quarter in Oakland, but by the second quarter the stat correction put him at 9 1/2 sacks instead of 10.

Lynn Worthy

Lynn Worthy covers the Kansas City Chiefs and NFL for The Star.

This story was originally published December 2, 2018 at 4:51 PM with the headline "Chiefs 19, Raiders 7: Halftime observations on the offense and more."