The Kansas City Chiefs hosted the Las Vegas Raiders on Christmas Day at Arrowhead Stadium in a pivotal AFC West matchup. The Chiefs entered the game on the division, while the Raiders were attempting to keep their playoff hopes alive. Eventually, the Raiders pulled off the 20-14 bombshell victory over the vigorously preferred Chiefs.

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Offensive Woes for Mahomes and Chiefs

The story of the game was the struggles of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City offense. Mahomes had perhaps of his most terrible performance in recent memory, finishing only 15 of 29 passes for 172 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He was constantly under pressure from the Raiders defensive front and made some uncharacteristic mistakes.

“We just didn’t execute at a high enough level,” Mahomes said after the game. “I have to be better at finding ways to get the ball out and get it to our playmakers.”

The running game was also ineffective for Kansas City. Lead back Jerick McKinnon oversaw only 45 yards on 14 carries as the Raiders stacked the box to stop the run. The 174 total yards were the fewest for the Chiefs offense in the Mahomes era. They also went just 3 of 10 on third downs.

Stingy Raiders Defense Steps Up

On the opposite side, the Raiders protection played maybe its most impressive performance of the time. They fired Mahomes multiple times and rushed him on a lot more dropbacks. Chandler Jones drove the way with 1.5 sacks.

“The defensive line got after Mahomes all game long,” said Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels. “That allowed the guys on the back end to lock up their receivers.”

Las Vegas likewise held the Cheifs to only 5 of 13 on third down. That parsimonious play from the defense enabled the Raiders offense to set up an adequate number of focuses to win regardless of their own battles moving the ball.

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Raiders Get Just Enough Offense

Derek Carr finished 19 of 30 passes for 230 yards and a late score to Davante Adams that chilled the game. Josh Jacobs gave a coarse performance on the ground, scrambling for 86 yards on 30 carries.

The Raiders scored on two short Jarrett Stidham score hurries to fabricate a 14-7 lead in the first half. The Chiefs kept them out of the end zone in the second half until Carr and Adams connected on the 4-yard score. Even though they didn’t light up the scoreboard, the Raiders offense did just enough to complement their stellar defensive effort.

Looking Ahead for Both Teams

The win kept the Raiders in the thick of the AFC playoff race at 6-9. They still need plenty of help over the final two weeks along with no more losses to have a shot at the postseason. The Chiefs dropped to 11-4 and ceded control of the AFC West and the conference’s number one seed to the Bills. Mahomes and company will try to get back on track in their regular season finale against the Broncos.