Here’s what KC Chiefs players thought of Raiders stepping on midfield logo at Arrowhead
After beating the Chiefs in Kansas City last season, the Raiders’ team bus took a victory lap around Arrowhead Stadium, basking in the fact that they had handed their rivals their only loss of the regular season.
Chiefs players shook it off when asked about the gesture later that week, not wanting to make much of a big deal about it. But then the Raiders decided to take a more public dig at the organization before Sunday’s game.
And this time around, the Chiefs weren’t going to hold their tongues.
“You definitely don’t want people coming into your stadium and trying to disrespect things that you’ve built,” star quarterback Patrick Mahomes said.
Mahomes and every Chiefs player that spoke to the media postgame had something to say about how the Raiders stepped on their logo before kickoff, even if they weren’t directly asked about it. Others sent out tweets.
The Las Vegas players were gathered in a pregame huddle around the 25-yard line when defensive end Yannick Ngakoue raised his arm and called them over to the Chiefs’ logo at midfield. The move was met by thunderous boos from the Arrowfield Stadium crowd.
“Bro, I didn’t hear about the logo thing until after the game. But that’s pretty disrespectful, you know?” said Chiefs cornerback Mike Hughes. “I’m glad we jumped on them the way we did when they came in here and, I mean, I can’t really explain that. Like I know one of our guys wouldn’t do that.”
Hughes recovered a fumble and took the ball 23 yards to the end zone on the very first play of the game. He also forced two fumbles in the 48-9 victory.
Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu didn’t know about the Raiders’ disrespectful gesture before the game either. He said he found out during a post-game interview on the field.
“It doesn’t really move me,” Mathieu said. “I don’t think champions really act in that manner.”
Added wide receiver Josh Gordon, who had a touchdown in the win: “I guess the success we had today was warranted.”
The 39-point victory on Sunday marked the largest win margin for the Chiefs in the history of the rivalry. After the beatdown, the PA system at Arrowhead blasted the children’s song “Wheels on the Bus” — a nod at the Raiders’ victory lap last season.
“I was aware of the victory lap [last season] and I mean, definitely we didn’t want them winning here again,” Mahomes said. “So I think we went out there and handled business.”
This story was originally published December 12, 2021 at 5:55 PM.
