It was a little more than a year ago when the Kansas City Chiefs saw a five-game win streak chopped down by the Oakland Raiders on Thursday Night Football.
Rolling into the Black Hole on Sunday, Jeremy Maclin and friends weren't about to let the Silver and Black repeat the deed.
"This isn't last year," Maclin said, after the Chiefs wideout scored a pair of touchdowns in a 34-20 win over Oakland, per the team's official website. "This is not the team that came here last year. We're on a mission."
Sunday made it six in a row for Kansas City, lifting the club to 7-5 on the year and putting the Chiefs in excellent position for an AFC wild-card berth. Especially when you consider the remaining schedule, with tilts against the Chargers, Ravens, Browns and Raiders. You couldn't craft a more inviting slate.
The Chiefs aren't the prettiest of acts, winning with a combination of clean play from Alex Smith, plenty of juice on the ground and a smothering defense that milked three killer picks from Raiders quarterback Derek Carr on Sunday. Those turnovers came late in the affair, helping snap a 20-20 tie with 7:57 left in the game.
"We'll never just win easy," said cornerback Sean Smith, calling the Chiefs "the most dramatic team in the NFL," per The Kansas City Star.
The late-game heroics also point to the fine job Andy Reid has done, a coach once nestled on the hot seat after a 1-5 start. His players on Sunday, though, crowed about their leader and the mindset he's brought to the building.
"We believe in what we're doing the entire time," linebacker Tamba Hali said. "Things aren't always going the way we planned, but we keep playing. That's something our coach has instilled in our culture. They're going to make plays. Somehow, we have to make plays."
NFL seasons aren't decided in September and October. Quietly crafting one of the better coaching performances all year, it will be fascinating to see how far Reid can take his increasingly intriguing Chiefs.
