Kansas City Chiefs have no reason to panic after loss to Raiders
The Kansas City Chiefs were surprisingly handled by the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 5. Their fans are nervous, but have no reason to be.
On Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs lost a football game. That fact alone was worthy of national news.
Kansas City saw its 13-game winning streak ended by the Las Vegas Raiders, a team which came into Arrowhead Stadium as a decided 11.5-point underdog. Shockingly, the Raiders hung a 40-32 defeat on the Chiefs, who allowed 490 total yards and one big play after the next to Derek Carr and Co.
The loss was the first for the Chiefs since Nov. 10, 2019, when they fell on the road to the Tennessee Titans. Almost a full calendar year.
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Now, at 4-1 and still in control of the AFC West, the questions have started coming in. Are the Chiefs still the great team we saw beat up on the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football in Week 3? Is there something amiss with Patrick Mahomes, who despite throwing for 340 against the Raiders, didn’t look himself? Are there reasons for concerns over a defense which got routinely beaten and beaten bad by Las Vegas?
The answer is no — at least to this juncture — on all counts.
For starters, Kansas City played about a perfect game that night against Baltimore. The Chiefs, while always capable of being that group, shouldn’t be expected to play to that standard on a weekly basis. Nobody can, and nobody ever has.
As for Mahomes, the man has thrown for 1,474 yards (7.6 YPA) with 13 touchdowns against one interception. Those numbers extrapolate to 4,716 yards, 41 touchdowns and three interceptions for the full season. Sure, Mahomes drifts at times and needs to take a small profit instead of trying to win the lottery, but those are champagne problems.
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Finally, the defense. Kansas City has allowed 20th in yardage against but more importantly, seventh in scoring (22.0 PPG). The Chiefs are also sixth against the pass, and have 13 sacks, ranking 10th. In short, the unit isn’t dominating, but it’s in the NFL’s top half. It’s more than enough considering the offense it is paired with.
For those in Kansas City stunned and humbled by the loss, take stock of the current situation. The Chiefs are a game ahead of the Raiders in the division. They also lead the Denver Broncos (2.5 games) and the Los Angeles Chargers (3 games).
In the AFC, Kansas City holds tiebreakers on Baltimore and the New England Patriots after head-to-head wins. With a Monday affair ahead with the Buffalo Bills, a win would provide another tiebreaker, and reassurance all is well with the champs.
