The Kansas City Chiefs took care of business in Week 13, demolishing the rival Oakland Raiders at Arrowhead Stadium 31-0.
When the Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders first faced each other this season, Patrick Mahomes threw four touchdowns in the first half in an opening 30 minutes for the ages. Kansas City never looked back, picking up their second win of the season in convincing fashion.
Although the Raiders defense put up a strong fight against Mahomes in Week 13, holding the former MVP candidate to a completion percentage under 50 percent, their offense bowed at the feet of the Chiefs defense.
Questions have been asked about the Chiefs’ defense again, but they finally played to their potential again this Sunday. Perhaps they were helped by Derek Carr’s slump, which included a benching for his role in the Raiders’ 34-3 loss to the New York Jets last week, but the likes of Juan Thornhill and Tyrann Mathieu deserve credit for stepping up to the plate.
This win bumps the Chiefs record up to 8-4, whereas the Raiders are at 6-6 and floundering in the AFC Wild Card race after a second embarrassing defeat. Whereas Oakland showed zero fight, the Chiefs answered a lot of questions on defense, specifically their ability to create turnovers. Mathieu and Thornhill are critical playmakers in the defensive backfield, and they will be instrumental in the Chiefs playoff success this season.
Yes, the Chiefs are a lock to make the postseason, as they have basically clinched the division after this win. Mathematically, a Raiders’ comeback is within the realm of possibility, and the Los Angeles Chargers technically aren’t eliminated yet. (Though it’s safe to cross an “X” off their names in the standings with how awful they’ve been in 2019.)
Before the season, it seemed like the Chiefs would be in for another fight with the Chargers for AFC West supremacy, but the Raiders ended up being their stiffest competition. While the Chiefs had their own bouts with inconsistency, they have the quality to make it all the way to the Super Bowl and showed that quality against the division’s second-best team for the second time this season.
There’s no doubt Kansas City has the quarterback and skill position players who can take a team to Super Bowl glory, but with more performances like this one, they may finally have a defense capable of making enough big plays to give Andy Reid his first career Super Bowl ring.