The Chiefs locked up the No. 1 seed in the AFC with a blowout victory over the Raiders
By Jeff Kerr
• 1 min read
The Kansas City Chiefs left no doubts on locking up the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs, cruising to a 31-13 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders in the regular season finale. Kansas City will have a first-round bye in the AFC playoffs and home-field advantage throughout the postseason. (Unless the Chiefs host the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship. Then the game will be played at a neutral site.)
Patrick Mahomes finished with 231 combined yards in the win,giving him the most total yards in a season in NFL history. Mahomes broke Drew Brees' record of 5,562 yards, finishing the season with 5,614 total yards. He went 18 of 26 for 202 passing yards with a touchdown pass, finishing with 5,250 passing yards and 41 touchdowns on the season. Travis Kelce finished with six catches for 38 yards, giving him 110 catches for 1,338 yards on the year.
The Chiefs got going early with a 67-yard pass from Mahomes to Justin Watson on the second play of the game. Mahomes found McKinnon for the two-yard score a few plays later to give Kansas City a 7-0 lead just 2:02 into the game. Kadarius Toney capped off a 98-yard scoring drive with an 11-yard touchdown run to build Kansas City's lead up to 21-3 with 49 seconds left in the first half.
Kansas City capped the scoring with an Isiah Pacheco one-yard touchdown run with 11:03 left to put the Chiefs up 31-6 in a game that was never in doubt. Pacheco led the Chiefs with 64 yards on eight carries (8.0 yards per carry).
Josh Jacobs can become the first Raiders player to win the league rushing title since Marcus Allen in 1985, but was held to 17 carries for 45 yards. Jacobs still has a commanding lead for the rushing title (1,653 yards), as Nick Chubb needs 206 yards to pass him and Derrick Henry needs 225 in their final game. Jarrett Stidham threw for 219 yards, a touchdown and an interception in his second career start.
Takeaways from this game can be found here and a recap can be found in the live blog below!
Why the Chiefs won
The Chiefs flexed their muscles early and often against the Raiders, but wouldn't have been able to pull off such a dominant victory without their red zone success. Kansas City finished 4 of 5 in the red zone in this game, scoring four touchdowns and never leaving the outcome in doubt.
Jerick McKinnon caught another red zone touchdown, his eighth receiving touchdown in the last six games and sixth consecutive game with a receiving touchdown. Isiah Pacheco scored a rushing touchdown as well, part of the reason why the Chiefs will finish in the top three in red zone scoring for the year.
Patrick Mahomes was 5 of 7 with a touchdown and a 113.1 passer rating in the red zone as well.
Why the Raiders lost
Vegas was just playing out the string in this one, but the defense allowed Kansas City to score on four of their five first half possessions -- including three touchdowns. Josh Jacobs couldn't get going with just 2.6 yards per carry and Davante Adams was held out of the end zone.
The Raiders didn't get their touchdown until midway through the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach. They have a lot of questions to address this offseason, including the future of Josh McDaniels and Derek Carr.
Turning point
The Chiefs set the tone early in this game, using just the second offensive play to make a statement they wanted home field in the AFC playoffs. Patrick Mahomes threw a 67-yard pass to a wide open Justin Watson that took the Chiefs down to the Raiders' 3-yard line.
Mahomes found McKinnon on a 2-yard pass three plays later — on a play where the quarterback could have ran it in — to put Kansas City up 7-0 just 2:02 into the game. The Chiefs never looked back.
Play of the game
It didn't exactly count, but the Chiefs using the dancing huddle was the coolest aspect of this game — and showed how much Kansas City dominated.
McKinnon took the direct snap and flipped the ball back to Patrick Mahomes, who rolled to his right. Mahomes, who can throw a pass, found Ladarius Toney in coverage. Toney eluded two defenders and took the pass in for a score.
The play was nullified with an offensive holding penalty by Creed Humphrey. Toney scored on the next play on an 11-yard run to put Kansas City up 21-3 late in the second quarter.
The quote
"We can do it in a McDonald's Parking Lot." — Andy Reid to ESPN on potentially playing the AFC Championship Game at a neutral site.
If the Chiefs play the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship Game, the game will be played at a neutral site.
Up next
The Chiefs (14-3) clinch the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs — including a first-round bye— and will play at Arrowhead Stadium in the divisional round in two weeks. Time and opponent to be determined. The Raiders' (6-11) season comes to an end.
