LAS VEGAS (AP) — Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce insists physicality is stitched into the fabric of his football team.
The fabric appeared to get snagged, again.
The Kansas City Chiefs (7-0) muscled their way to a 27-20 victory Sunday to stay unbeaten, while the listless Raiders (2-6) had their worst offensive day of the season while losing their fourth straight game.
”(We’re) trying to establish some physicality with our guys up front,” Pierce said. “That was part of our identity and DNA that we’ve been harping on. We harped on in training camp. We’re going to continue harp on it.”
Las Vegas finished with a season-low 228 yards while its 33 yards rushing were its fewest against the Chiefs since it rushed for a mere 31 on Dec. 5, 2004. In addition, the Raiders' 1.57 yards per carry were their second-fewest ever versus Kansas City, the lowest being 0.73 on Dec. 3, 1995.
Only three teams on four occasions have averaged less than 2.0 yards per carry in a game this season. And it was the Raiders who did it twice, both times finishing with 1.6 per carry, including Sunday.
“It was a good defensive front up front,” said running back Alexander Mattison, whose 1.07 yards per carry is third-worst for a Raiders player with 14 or more carries in a game. “Got to give props to those guys on the other side of the ball. They did a good job. We have to do better in our execution. We have to do better schematically however you look at it.
“We’ll look at tape, we’ll see what went wrong, what could have went better. I got to fight for extra yards, do things where I can try and get it going. But it takes a team effort, so we have to make sure we look at it as a team, be accountable as a team, and do what we can to make sure that we’re on the other side of that and we don’t continue to let that happen.”
Pierce, Mattison and quarterback Gardner Minshew all scoffed at the notion offensive coordinator Luke Getsy's play calling should be called into question, despite the fact only four of the Raiders’ offensive drives lasted longer than four plays.
Like when they put themselves in position to take the lead after an interception in the third quarter placed the offense at Kansas City's 3. But Mattison was stopped on three consecutive runs before Minshew was sacked on fourth down.
“I think there’s two sides of the story,” Mattison said. “There’s the play-calling and there’s execution. Both of them have to be in alignment. And there was a couple times where they weren’t. We just have to own up to it, take accountability, and make sure that we go out there and do a better job on the next drive, on the next play.
“There was just too many times in this game where we just weren’t able to execute. We get in certain situations we have to execute, we have to come out with points, and we didn’t. And of course, we can’t turn the ball over. That's been a theme this season that has taken us out of games, and for that reason we have to make sure we keep those off the board.”
The Raiders are at Cincinnati next Sunday before their bye week, when they'll have a better chance to remedy their offensive woes.
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Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce speaks during a news conference following an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew speaks during a news conference following an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Las Vegas Raiders running back Alexander Mattison (22) runs with the ball as Kansas City Chiefs safety Nazeeh Johnson (13) defends during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew (15) is stopped by Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton (98) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Patrick Mahomes didn't make many mistakes Sunday, but one of his few errors could've cost the Chiefs the game.
He needed his defense to come to the rescue — and it did.
Kansas City kept the Raiders off the scoreboard even after facing first-and-goal at the 3-yard line, changing the tenor of the game and allowing the two-time defending champion Chiefs to continue their domination in Las Vegas with a 27-20 victory to remain undefeated.
That sequence occurred late in the third quarter with the Chiefs clinging to a 17-13 lead.
“It's easy in that situation to let them kind of get into the end zone because it's not really on them," Mahomes said. “It was on the offense that put them in position, but they stood their ground. The defense made a big-time stop and we were able to carry momentum into a win.”
The Chiefs (7-0) extended their winning streak to 13 games, including the playoffs. Their last loss was at home to Las Vegas, but the Chiefs are 5-0 against the Raiders at Allegiant Stadium and 6-0 there including the Super Bowl in February.
Las Vegas (2-6) has lost four consecutive games, but this was the first time the Raiders had scored at least 20 points since a 20-16 victory over Cleveland on Sept. 29.
Mahomes passed for 262 yards and two touchdowns, becoming the fastest quarterback in NFL history to reach 30,000 yards. He accomplished that in his 103rd game; Matthew Stafford had hit that mark at 109.
Mahomes' top target was Travis Kelce, who had 10 catches for 90 yards, both season highs. He last caught double-digit passes on Oct. 22, 2023, and this was the highest-yardage output since Nov. 26.
Kelce also had a touchdown catch, his 75th to pass Jason Witten for fifth on the NFL tight end list. Kelce moved within two of breaking Tony Gonzalez's team record.
Gardner Minshew completed 24 of 30 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns for Las Vegas, but was sacked five times. Jakobi Meyers, who missed the two previous games because of an ankle injury, caught six passes for 52 yards and a TD.
Minshew had the burden of carrying an offense that had virtually no running game, finishing with 33 yards, averaging 1.6 per carry. The Chiefs entered the game with the NFL's fourth-best run defense, allowing 90.5 yards per game.
“For us, being able to stop the run is the primary goal every single week,” Chiefs defensive end George Karlaftis said. “We make them one-dimensional, there's where we want to be.”
Las Vegas also had trouble getting the Chiefs off the field, allowing KC to convert on 12 of 16 third downs. That ties the Commanders for the second-highest rate in a game this season, behind the Bengals who converted on 76.9% on Sunday against the Eagles.
The Raiders, however, made the champs work for this victory. But Las Vegas failed to take advantage of key opportunities
The Raiders had the ball and 1:57 left on the clock at the end of the first half, but went with two running plays before an incomplete pass on third down. Kansas City got the ball back and went 56 yards on nine plays for Harrison Butker's 42-yard field goal with four seconds left that made it 17-10.
Then there was that series in the third quarter.
Las Vegas trailed by four points when safety Tre'von Moehrig intercepted Mahomes' pass to give the Raiders the ball at the Chiefs 3. Running plays by Alexander Mattison resulted in plays of 2 yards, a no gain and a loss of 2 before Minshew was sacked on fourth down.
“(We’re) trying to establish some physicality with our guys up front,” Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said. “Right there at the 3-yard line, you've got to pound it in. Turnover, sudden change. Should be able to punch that ball in.”
The Chiefs then went 87 yards on 19 carries, taking 9:43 off the clock, to set up another field goal from Butker, this one from 24 yards early in the fourth quarter for a seven-point lead.
A strip sack of Minshew set up the final Chiefs' touchdown with 4:59 left to all but seal the victory, though the Raiders scored a TD just before the 2-minute warning to create some drama. Kansas City then recovered the onside kick.
Chiefs wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins was targeted three times and finished with two catches for 29 yards.
The Chiefs traded a conditional fifth-round pick to the Titans last week for Hopkins, a former All-Pro brought to help a unit decimated by injuries.
“He wanted to be in there, which is a positive thing,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “He'll get more chances the next game.”
Chiefs: S Nazeeh Johnson (concussion) went out in the first half. TE Jody Fortson (knee) also was injured.
Raiders: C Andre James (ankle) was injured in the second half.
Chiefs: Host Tampa Bay on Monday, Nov. 4.
Raiders: At Cincinnati on Sunday.
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Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce watches from the sidelines during the first half of an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid watches from the sidelines during the first half of an NFL football game against the Las Vegas Raiders Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) throws during the second half of an NFL football game against the Las Vegas Raiders Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy (1) gets past Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Jack Jones (18) to score a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP)
Las Vegas Raiders safety Tre'von Moehrig intercepts a pass against the Kansas City Chiefs during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew (15) is stopped by Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton (98) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) scrambles as Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Nate Hobbs (39) defends during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Jakobi Meyers (16) catches a touchdown pass as Kansas City Chiefs safety Justin Reid (20) defends during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) celebrates after catching a touchdown pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Las Vegas Raiders Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
