2022 NFL season, Week 5: What We Learned from Chiefs' win over Raiders on Monday 

FULL BOX SCORE

• READ: Travis Kelce's four touchdowns key Chiefs' comeback win
• READ: Referee defends roughing passer call against Chiefs DL Jones
• READ: Raiders WR Adams faces potential discipline for postgame shove
• READ: Raiders TE Darren Waller sidelined by hamstring injury
• READ: Raiders players 'all on board' with Josh McDaniels' two-point decision

1. Four times is the charm for the Chiefs. Travis Kelce had a phenomenal game on Monday night, compiling a highlight reel of touchdowns fit for his future place in Canton. Kelce accounted for all four of the Chiefs' touchdowns, and did so while gaining just 25 yards on seven receptions. The stats don't logically match, but that's what makes Kelce so effective. He's a nearly unguardable red zone threat, and his ability to adjust on the fly -- running a drag that required him to weather a hit from Denzel Perryman, reverse course, catch a pass from Patrick Mahomes and outrun the remaining defenders -- produced one score that was essential to Kansas City's comeback efforts. His last was the most pivotal, of course, giving the Chiefs the lead that would stand through the final whistle. Tyreek Hill is gone, but Kelce remains in Kansas City -- and he's just as important as ever.
2. The Raiders have only themselves to blame for this loss. We've seen plenty of leads evaporate in the NFL this season, but it remains rare to see a team blow a 17-point lead without committing a single turnover. Still, the Raiders found a way to do so against the typically explosive Chiefs, and when they review the tape, they'll be rather upset with themselves. The amount of times Las Vegas ended up behind schedule was remarkable, and only topped by the gross total of penalties committed -- 11 accepted for 99 yards -- with many coming at the worst possible time. The most egregious arrived when Las Vegas managed to stop Kansas City and force a field goal attempt, which Matthew Wright missed from 37 yards out. Instead of getting the ball back facing a one-point deficit, a defensive holding penalty on Malcolm Koonce gave the Chiefs a fresh set of downs, which they used to score a touchdown to take a 30-23 lead. That advantage held to the end, for a whole other set of reasons we'll cover in the next point.
3. Unnecessary aggression doomed the Raiders. Josh McDaniels scored an early win by dialing up a deep shot to Davante Adams on a first-half fourth-and-1 for a touchdown, but that same aggression cost Las Vegas a chance of at least surviving into overtime. Derek Carr's beautiful touchdown pass to Adams put the Raiders within one point of tying the game, but instead of taking the tie score via a Daniel Carlson extra point and putting it on the defense to protect their chance to go win it, McDaniels went for two to try to take a one-point lead with plenty of time left for Mahomes and Co. to regain the lead. The Raiders failed, leaving the game at 30-29, but still got the necessary stop. Instead of being able to try to move into field goal range with the security of a tie, though, the Raiders had to get there with the threat of a loss looming over them on the road. The fashion in which they failed stood as the final exclamation point on an assortment of situational mistakes: Facing fourth-and-1 with the game on the line, McDaniels called a play that required two slow-developing, downfield routes to intersect with the hopes of freeing Adams for a go-ahead score. Instead, Adams ran into Hunter Renfrow, and Carr's heave landed in the abyss of the open field. McDaniels could have used his two excellent route-runners in a short-route scheme with the expectation Steve Spagnuolo would dial up pressure on a key down and hope Carr would get the ball out quickly to Adams or Renfrow. Instead, he went for the win -- on two separate occasions -- and got burned both times.
4. No lead is safe against Mahomes. This isn't something we learned tonight, of course, but Mahomes certainly reinforced this lesson by doing what he does best: finding an assortment of targets, no matter the situation. Despite being dominated at the point of attack for much of the first half, Mahomes used his magic to propel the Chiefs back into the game. Mahomes was under constant duress early in the game, but the Chiefs found a way to wake up offensively and put 10 points on the board before the break. From there, the momentum was already rolling, with Mahomes avoiding pressure to deliver tight-window passes for unlikely completions and keep the offense moving. When it was all finished, Mahomes connected with nine different targets and racked up 292 yards despite failing to break 100 yards with any one pass-catcher. The total team effort began with Mahomes and ended with the rest of his teammates, producing a resounding win that seemed unlikely before the break.
5. Kansas City maintains its grip on the AFC West. Sure, we could use this point to complain about roughing the passer penalties and missed holds, but that's a waste of time. Instead, let's look at the impact of this game. It's only Week 5, but the Chiefs have done an excellent job of avoiding the same slow start that had folks concerned about their outlook at this time a year ago. The Chiefs sit atop the AFC West at 4-1 with another clutch divisional win in their pocket, and if they hadn't given away a game in Indianapolis, they'd stand alongside the Philadelphia Eagles as the only two undefeated teams left in the NFL. Instead, they'll have to take 4-1 and feel good about it, especially after coming back to beat a Raiders team that punched them in the mouth early in this game. This win was a resounding one, because it reinforced just how tough it is to beat the Chiefs, especially at Arrowhead Stadium, even when everything seems to be going in the visitors' favor. Through five weeks, the long-reigning kings of the AFC West remain the team to beat.

Next Gen Stat of the game: Travis Kelce traveled 52.7 yards from snap to score on his 8-yard touchdown reception from Patrick Mahomes, Kelce's third score of the night and the most distance traveled on a touchdown play under 10 yards since Mitchell Trubisky covered 71.9 yards in Week 7 of the 2018 season.

NFL Research: With his fourth passing touchdown (all to Travis Kelce), Patrick Mahomes passed Troy Aikman on the all-time list for career touchdowns on Monday night with 166, recorded early in his sixth NFL season. Aikman threw 165 touchdowns across 12 seasons and called the Monday night game for ESPN.