Raiders-Chiefs on Black Friday: What We Learned from Kansas City's win over Las Vegas

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• REWATCH: Raiders-Chiefs on NFL+
• READ: Chiefs become first team to clinch 2024 playoff berth
• READ: Raiders' O'Connell: Botched snap on final drive 'completely my fault'
• READ: Raiders become first AFC team eliminated from playoff contention

1. Chiefs win ugly once again. Kansas City is now 11-1 after outlasting an inferior opponent in a game they likely should've won by double digits. They certainly had their opportunities, including five red-zone trips, but scored just one touchdown out of those five chances. Credit can be given to the Raiders' defense, which sacked Patrick Mahomes five times (including twice in the Raiders' red zone), but those who have watched the Chiefs know these struggles aren't exclusive to Black Friday. Kansas City has found ways to win, but they're far from a perfect operation. Mahomes is still having a hard time connecting with Xavier Worthy -- their missed third-down attempt in the fourth quarter was emblematic of their struggles -- and even DeAndre Hopkins, who is largely settling into his key role, dropped a a third-down pass attempted out of heroism in the third quarter. They also seem to be lost for answers in the red zone, especially when defenses take away quick slants along the goal line. Luckily, Las Vegas' late offensive explosion appeared to wake up the Chiefs, who need such a call at this stage in the season (much like the one they received from the Raiders on Christmas Day last year). We'll see if this game helps them build momentum entering December.
2. Familiar errors doom Raiders. Las Vegas spent two and a half quarters generally puttering around the field at Arrowhead Stadium, mustering just three points, missing a field goal and getting stuffed on fourth-and-1, making for a game that wasn't exactly captivating. That changed when a 68-yard kick return by Ameer Abdullah woke them up, leading to a fantastic touchdown catch by Brock Bowers. On their next possession, another explosive play -- this time, a 58-yard touchdown pass to Tre Tucker -- flipped the game on its head, forcing the Chiefs out of their own slumber. The Raiders ended up with two chances to potentially win, moving into the edge of Daniel Carlson's range, where he ended up botching the long attempt by scuffing the turf with his kicking foot. Given one more chance, the Raiders moved down the field again, covering 54 yards before an operational error -- with the play clock winding down, center Jackson Powers-Johnson hurried a snap to a surprised Aidan O'Connell, resulting in a fumble -- ended their hopes of a last-second win. While O'Connell took the blame for the crucial turnover, these mistakes are endemic for the 2024 Raiders, a team that cannot get out of their own way. And on a day in which they probably didn't deserve to have a chance to win, the Raiders found another way to waste their best opportunities. That's how a team ends up with a 2-10 record and an immediate future that grows more uncertain by the week.
3. The Raiders have a lot to fix, but tight end is set. Because the Raiders have proven to be a bad football team, a lot of the football world may not be familiar with Bowers' game. They learned Friday. Bowers once again finished as Las Vegas' leading receiver, catching 10 of his 14 targets for 140 yards and a spectacular 33-yard touchdown grab that was a crucial part of the Raiders' comeback. He and Jakobi Meyers are the only two trustworthy playmakers in this offense as of now, and Bowers is clearly the better of the two. He's already one of the best tight ends in the NFL and is only a rookie. With this performance on national television, perhaps Friday was the moment the rest of the NFL became aware of his talents -- and his potential.
4. Welcome back, Chris Jones. The Chiefs' star defensive tackle has affected most every game in which he's played this season, but he'd gone without a sack since Week 4. That seven-game drought -- tied for the longest within a season of his career -- ended Friday when Jones sacked O'Connell on a third-down play that began at Kansas City's 4-yard line, forcing the Raiders to settle for a field goal. Jones added another sack later in the same quarter, ending a drive near midfield by taking down O'Connell on third-and-9. He's obviously a massive part of this Chiefs defense, and seeing him get back in the sack column is an encouraging sign for a defense that -- judging by the current state of their offense -- might be counted on even more in the 2024 postseason than it was a year ago.

Next Gen Stats insight from Raiders-Chiefs (via NFL Pro): Maxx Crosby played every Raiders defensive snap for the sixth straight game (67 snaps), extending his streak to 387 consecutive snaps -- the longest by a defensive lineman in the NGS era (since 2016).

NFL Research: Patrick Mahomes recorded his 100th career win (including playoffs) in Week 13, tying Tom Brady for the fastest all-time to do it (126 starts).