Grades are in for the Chiefs, and it’s close to honor roll stuff for win vs. Raiders
The Chiefs rocked the Oakland Raiders 40-9 Sunday in a showdown of the top two teams in the AFC West. Here’s a breakdown of the game in report card fashion.
KC Star of the Game
This week’s pick is Juan Thornhill. The Chiefs’ defense had an excellent day, and no one was better than the rookie safety from Virginia. Thornhill returned an interception for a 46-yard touchdown and came up with a big fourth-down tackle in space. The Chiefs’ secondary is much improved this season and the play of Thornhill and fellow safety Tyrann Mathieu is a big reason.
Reason to hope: The Chiefs took command of the AFC West. They stand 8-4 and hold a two-game lead over the Raiders with a season sweep of Oakland. Their AFC West and Andy Reid-after-a-bye success grew by another game. Reid’s 25-3 vs. the division since 2015, and 18-3 after a bye, in his career.
Reason to mope: Not much to sulk about. If a nitpick is required, Patrick Mahomes and his targets seemed out of sync at times. That could have been the cold conditions, the Raiders’ defense or a combination of both. But with a four-touchdown victory over the division’s second-place team, if you’re searching in this is category you’re going to come up short.
Next: The Chiefs visit the New England Patriots Sunday in a rematch of last season’s AFC Championship Game. The game kicks off at 3:25 p.m. Central.
Report card
Passing offense: C
That’s two straight games under The Mahomes Standard. Unlike the Chiefs’ last outing, against the Chargers, Mahomes didn’t throw an interception. But that was because Raiders cornerback Nevin Lawson dropped an easy one and another was overturned on an officials’ review. Mahomes put nice touch on his 3-yard touchdown pass to Darrel Williams, and the receivers had some drops. But overall, it was an average day from the MVP whose 175 passing yards marked the second straight game in which he logged a career low in a game he started and finished.
Rushing offense: B
Mahomes’ 13-yard touchdown run in the second quarter was the early highlight. The bad news is Darrel Williams suffered a hamstring injury in the third quarter, and Damien Williams didn’t play because of a rib injury. The Chiefs were down to LeSean McCoy and rookie Darwin Thompson to finish the game. Thompson had some nice moments as the Chiefs went into kill-the-clock mode, including his first NFL touchdown from 4 yards with 5:24 remaining. Thompson led the Chiefs in rushing with 44 yards.
Passing defense: A
Tyrann Mathieu and Thornhill came up with interceptions. Thornhill’s was the team’s first pick-six of the season. Both happened in the first half, giving the Chiefs six picks in their last 1 1/2 quarters. Raiders QB Derek Carr has thrown 10 interceptions in his last 23 games, including six picks against the Chiefs. Maybe the cool, windy weather was a factor. It was 36 degrees at kickoff and Carr entered the game 0-7 all-time in games starting with a temperature of 45 degrees or less
Rushing defense: B
Yes, rookie Josh Jacobs surpassed 100 rushing yards against the Chiefs Sunday. But the Chiefs were superb defensively and held the Raiders in check throughout the afternoon. The Chiefs entered the game yielding 143 rushing yards per game and surrendered 122. That’s a victory.
Special teams: A
On a windy day, Harrison Butker banged through a 51-yard field goal, and the kickoff-coverage team forced a fumble (Rashad Fenton did the honors) that was recovered by Dorian O’Daniel. As an exlamation point, Tanoh Kpassagnon blocked an extra point and Charvarius Ward returned it for two points. Good stuff from Dave Toub’s group in this one.
Coaching: B
After the Chiefs got a fumble recovery on a kickoff and set up shop at the Raiders’ 24, they faced a fourth-and-1 and Reid decided to go for it leading 7-0. Running back Darrel Williams was stuffed. Going for it wasn’t the wrong call, but trying to out-physical the Raiders was.
And this shouldn’t be overlooked: Officially, the Chiefs had no penalties. They were called for one, but that particular play was ruled dead by off-setting flags. We knock coaches when the penalty count is high. They deserve credit for having a team focused in games like Sunday’s.
This story was originally published December 1, 2019 at 6:51 PM.