Chiefs hold off Raiders to take control of AFC West

Kansas City’s secondary did a great job all game staying with the likes of Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree.

When the dust had settled, it was the home team coming away with a hard-fought 21-13 victory, making it a season sweep of their arch-rivals.

So he did, the rookie speedster taking the punt back 78-yards for a game-changing touchdown. But first the hero’s of the Game were Alex Smith and Tyreek Hill.

Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce posted his fourth consecutive game with 100-plus yards receiving, catching five passes for 101 yards.

“I felt a little bit of a letdown when it happened”, Chiefs coach Andy Reid said.

Carr was a forgettable 17-41 with only 117 yards – a 2.9 yards per attempt clip that will surely haunt him as the season goes on. The Raiders lead the league with 122 penalties, 22 more than the next closest team.

“I liked our effort, just didn’t like the execution”, said Jack Del Rio, who remained winless in four tries against Kansas City as the Raiders’ coach. In fact, three of his worst games in terms of completion percentage have come against the Chiefs, who are now tied with Oakland at 10-3 and atop the AFC West. One key stat to keep in mind while watching the game is the Chiefs have won 8 straight games within the division. He leads the Chiefs with nine total touchdowns, including his 36-yard touchdown catch Thursday night. Hill said later, ” I was caught by surprise when I heard my name being chanted”. The battle on the field wasn’t the only one at Arrowhead Stadium last night, though.

Kansas City jumped on top 21-3, in the first half, and seemed set to cruise to victory.

On the other side, Latavius Murray led the way for Oakland with 103 rushing yards and a touchdown.

The Raiders made it back-to-back plays forcing a turnover when Khalil Mack blew into the backfield past left tackle Eric Fisher to strip sack Smith – his eighth straight game with a sack and third straight with a strip sack.

At this point in the game, Alex Smith was 11/16 for 202 yards, 1 TD, 0 INTs, and he had completed a pass to six different WRs. And previous year, they went to Houston and came away with their first playoff victory in more than two decades, only to lose at New England the following week. Carr got his first professional win while rain fell through the night.

Boy, oh boy, do we have a football game to watch tonight.

The Chiefs found the end zone on the first play of the second quarter.

That, no doubt, will give Kansas City a lot of confidence going into this TNF game, but it will also mean the Raiders will come into the contest with a point or two to prove.

Johnson ruptured his right Achilles in similar fashion two years ago.

The Raiders’ offensive line, though, was not at full strength with left guard Kelechi Osemele being sick enough to be treated at a local hospital early in the day. Oakland also controls the AFC West, but not by much.

Spencer Ware continues piling up yards and should be on his way to his first 1,000-yard season, which will give Kansas City a real Sophie’s Choice when Jamal Charles is healthy again.