Failure To Convert 3rd Downs Resulted In 31-17 Kansas City Chiefs’ Victory Over The Las Vegas Raiders

Las Vegas Raiders #98 Maxx Crosby (DE) tackling Kansas City Chiefs quarterback #15 Patrick Mahomes. Photo by Jeff Lewis.

LAS VEGAS, NV - The Kansas City Chiefs (8-3) beat the Las Vegas Raiders (5-7) 31-17 because the Raiders could not sustain drives in the second half. The Chiefs arrived at Allegiant Stadium hoping to atone for last week's brutal loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Chiefs have failed to score a single point in the second half in their last four games. Even with the two-time NFL and Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes at quarterback, the Chiefs had committed penalties, blew assignments, and dropped passes.

Nonetheless, almost every sports analyst picked the Chiefs to beat the Raiders. Las Vegas has improved (2-1) under Head Coach Antonio Pierce and entered the contest 4-1 at home and touted Pro Bowlers Davantae Adams, Josh Jacobs, and Maxx Crosby.

Las Vegas Raiders #16 Jakobi Myers (WR) catching a touchdown pass in the endzone. Photo by Jeff Lewis.

From the opening, the Raiders controlled the line of scrimmage. Jacobs rushed effectively, and quarterback Aiden O'Connell completed all four passes and nine 9-play, 75-yard drive was capped off by an 18-yard touchdown pass to Jakobi Myers, providing a 7-0 scoring advantage to set the tone for the day.

The Chiefs' first offensive play resulted in an 11-yard loss to running back Isiah Pacheco and forced to punt two plays later. The Raiders' next drive was like the first drive and drove down to the Chief's 18-yard line. Kansas City had no answer for Davante Adams, who had four receptions for 59 yards.

Las Vegas with fourth and one, head coach Antonio Pierce opted to send out his reliable Kicker Daniel Carlson, who missed the field goal, surprising everyone in the building. Despite possessing the ball for 13 of the 15 minutes of the first quarter, and holding Kansas City to 11 total yards, the Raiders only had a 7-0 lead.

The Raiders, in the second quarter, drove from their 23-yard line, and O'Connell hooked up with Adams for a 14-yard completion. With the defense focusing on Adams, running back Josh Jacobs broke free for a 63-yard touchdown run down the left sideline to give the Raiders a 14-0 lead.

Mahomes completed his first pass to Pro Bowl Tight End Travis Kelce, which ignited their offense as Mahomes was able to scramble for a first down two plays later. The Chiefs completed another 18-yard pass to Skyy Moore by forcing Raiders' Cornerback Marcus Peters to make a solo tackle, plagued by a back injury, unable to make the stop.

On third and eighth from the Raiders' 16-yard line, Mahomes found Rashee Rice for the completion. On the next play, facing third and goal from the Raiders' 1-yard line, Pacheco punches into the endzone, making the score 14-7. The 12-play drive took 6:03 minutes and gave life to the Chiefs' faithful that were in attendance.

The Chiefs started their next drive from the 21-yard line with 3:37 minutes left in the 1st half. Mahomes, threw a pass over the shoulder of a Raiders' defender, which resulted in a 28-yard completion to Kelce, who many regard as the best Tight End in the NFL.

Las Vegas Raiders #8 Josh Jacobs )RB) 63-yard touchdown run. Photo by Jeff Lewis.

Kansas City was on the Raiders' 30-yard line at the two-minute warning. Head Coach Andy Reid drew up a double reverse pass for a 23-yard gain to Kelce. Kansas City was in business with first and goal from the Raiders 7-yard line.

A few plays later, the Chiefs on third and goal from the Raiders' 3-yard line, Mahomes scrambled and found wide receiver Justin Watson for a 3-yard touchdown. The drive took 3:12 minutes scoring drive went eight plays for 79 yards to end the first half-tied 14-14.

The Chiefs received the ball to start the second half, and Mahomes continued to torch the Raiders' defense by completing every pass, and driving downfield, capped off by a 1-yard touchdown run by Pacheco to take a 21-14 lead.

Their drive broke a month-long streak of Kansas City failing to score in the second half, and even though it was the Raiders' home field, it felt like the Raiders needed to sustain a drive to keep the Kansas City fans from taking over the energy in the stadium.

After a shanked 29-yard punt by Raiders' AJ Cole, the Chiefs acquired great field position and started from the 37-yard line. Maxx Crosby was able to come up with his first sack of the day to force the punt.

The Raiders used play-action to get the ball to their tight-end Mayer. O'Connell was able to convert a 33-yard pass to Myers to get the Raiders in the Red Zone, but the Chiefs' defense stiffened, and Daniel Carlson kicked a 34-yard field goal, making the score 21-17.

Kansas City Chiefs #87 Travis Kelce (TE) is covering the football with both hands before being tackled by two Las Vegas Raiders defenders.

Photo by Jeff Lewis.

Mahomes would respond and continue to throw passes to downfield to Travis Kelce. The Raiders opted not to double-team Kelce as other teams have been limiting Kelce's effectiveness. Crosby forced a holding penalty and negated an 11-yard run and first down for the Chiefs, ending the third quarter leading 21-17.

In the fourth quarter, with third and four from the 39-yard line, Mahomes completed another crossing route to Wide Receiver Rashee Rice for a 39-yard touchdown to take a 28-17 lead.

Aiden O'Connell was a gamer, and his 119 passer rating was better than Mahomes' 113 rating. The Raiders also had 39 more yards of total offense. The difference in the game was third down conversions the Raiders could not convert, but the Chiefs did.

With 6:29 left in the game and fourth and one from their 19-yard line, the Raiders ran the football with Jacobs and stuffed for a loss, but conventional wisdom would have been a quarterback sneak.

Failure to convert the first down was an insurmountable obstacle for the Raiders. The Las Vegas defense held Kansas City to a field goal and a 31-17 lead with 3:11 minutes remaining in the contest.

O'Connell kept firing and found consecutive passes to Hunter Renfrow and Jacobs. Facing third and eight, O'Connell was sacked, and now faced a fourth and twenty, and with two minutes remaining, the Raiders kept the offense on the field.

The offense gadget play failed. Here are statistics for the game that would surprise you., The Raiders committed no penalties, and Kansas City had four.

Las Vegas yearly leads the NFL in penalties. The Raiders led in rushing yards 123-71, and the Chiefs led in passing yards 291-235. Neither quarterback threw an interception. The Raiders went 2-9 on their third down conversions after starting 5-5. Mahomes finished 27-34 in completions, 298 passing yards, and two touchdowns.

After the game, Raiders' Pro Bowl Defensive End Maxx Crosby revealed that it had been a personal battle for him to play in the game. The Raiders listed Crosby as questionable for the game because of a knee injury.

Maxx stated that he had been hospitalized during the week and dealing with a lot of personal issues. His will to win and still play was admirable.

When asked if winning on third down was more indicative of the play call or the player making the play, Josh Jacobs responded, "It's both…the coach has to put you in a position to win, but the player also has to win (his matchup)."

The Raiders have a bye week coming up, and it could not have come at a better time to allow the team to get healthy. We will see if the Raiders can win their next matchup against the Minnesota Vikings in 2 weeks.