Kelce, Chiefs rally from 17-point deficit to take down Raiders

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs won a much different type of game than last week, this kind of victory leaving them with the feeling that they’re never out of a game. The Chiefs came back from a 17-point deficit to defeat the Las Vegas Raiders 30-29. Patrick Mahomes and the offense scored at one point on five straight possessions, with four being Travis Kelce touchdown catches.

The Chiefs jumped to a big lead early last week in beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but this victory came tougher.

Kansas City Chiefs

Pivotal play: With Andy Reid and the Chiefs still irate from a roughing the passer penalty that negated a Chris Jones sack, strip and fumble recovery, the Chiefs scrambled in the final seconds of the first half to get a 59-yard field goal from Matthew Wright to gain some momentum and cut their deficit to 20-10. The kick was the longest in the histories of both the Chiefs and Arrowhead Stadium.

Eye-popping Next Gen stat: Per ESPN Analytics, the Chiefs’ decision to go for 2 and make it a two-score game up 30-23 in the fourth quarter was the correct decision — but not by much. Win probability with the 2-point attempt (which failed) was 87.8%, while win probability with the extra point attempt was 87.4%.

QB breakdown: Mahomes was pressured relentlessly early in the game, the result being two punts and a missed field goal in the first three Chiefs possessions. Maxx Crosby of the Raiders had two early sacks. The Chiefs figured out a protection scheme that worked, and Mahomes led five straight scoring drives, four on TD passes to Kelce and a fourth on the long field goal by Wright. –– Adam Teicher

Underrated statistic to know: Travis Kelce‘s four receiving touchdowns are the most in a prime-time NFL game since Randy Moss of the Patriots had four on “Sunday Night Football” against the Bills on Nov. 18, 2007.

Next game: vs. Bills (4:25 p.m. ET, Sunday)

Las Vegas Raiders

The Las Vegas Raiders aren’t ready for prime time. Not after blowing a 17-0 lead to lose to the Kansas City Chiefs 30-29, three weeks after blowing a 20-0 halftime lead to the Arizona Cardinals. There would be a learning curve, no doubt, with a new coach in Josh McDaniels bringing his offensive system to Las Vegas, which was a playoff team last season and added an All-Pro receiver in Davante Adams to a slew of former Pro Bowlers. Still, the Raiders showed grit and, in McDaniels’ case, guts in going for a 2-point conversion to take the lead with 4:27 to play. Running back Josh Jacobs was stuffed, though, and now the Raiders (1-4) limp into their bye week.

Biggest hole in the game plan: Defending Chiefs TE Travis Kelce. Look, Kelce has been a Raiders killer his entire career, so it’s not like he was going to sneak up on anyone. Still, he finished with four TDs on seven catches for just 24 yards, giving him 11 career scores against the Raiders. Will the Raiders ever cover him, or is he just that good?

Bold prediction for next week: The Raiders have settled on an offensive line. The lineup of LT Kolton Miller, LG Dylan Parham, C Andre James, RG Alex Bars and RT Jermaine Eluemunor was the fifth different starting O-line for the Raiders in five games, its 10th different iteration of the season. The Raiders have been looking for the right guys in the right position and, given the way they were able to run the ball early and often, they have their lineup. Maybe.

QB breakdown: Derek Carr started hot, hitting a wide-open Adams for a 58-yard TD on a play-action call on fourth-and-1. It was Carr’s franchise-record 200th career passing score, 50 more than Hall of Famer Ken Stabler, who is second on the list. Carr completed 19 of 30 passes for 241 yards with two TDs and no interceptions. His biggest contributions, though, came on the roughing the passer penalty he incurred, as well as two deep PIs on underthrown balls to Adams.

Pivotal play: The roughing the passer penalty that was called on Chiefs DT Chris Jones in the second quarter despite Jones having taken the ball from Carr before landing on him. It seemed as though Jones should have had a strip sack/fumble recovery and Carr a tackle. Instead, the Raiders retained possession and kicked a field goal. Six straight penalty flags flew against the Raiders after the call. –– Paul Gutierrez

Underrated statistic to know: Last season, Carr was just 1-for-4 when throwing to an open/wide-open receiver 30-plus yards downfield. His first-quarter TD to Adams was his first such pass of the 2022 season, at 35 air yards with 3.3 yards of separation.

Next game: vs. Texans (4:05 p.m. ET, Sunday 10/23)