By MATT PIKE
The Kansas CIty Chiefs outclassed the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, shutting out their AFC West rivals 31-0 at Arrowhead Stadium for the Chiefs first shutout win in the regular season since 2011.
The last shutout win for the Chiefs in the regular season came on Oct. 23rd, 2011, coincidentally also against the, at the time, Oakland Raiders, nearly 14 years to the date. The shutout also happened to be the first regular season shutout win of head coach Andy Reid's career, adding to his Hall of Fame resume.
Tight End Travis Kelce in disbelief Reid had never accomplished the feat
"Man I could have swore we had one, oh well, well shout out to Coach Reid," Kelce says in the locker room to reporters after the game. "Add it to the list of things that he's accomplished."
The Chiefs did have one shutout win under Reid in the 2015 AFC Wildcard game, beating the Houston Texans 30-0.
Cornerback Trent McDuffie says this feels like one of the most complete games he's been a part of
"I've never been a part of a game where we even had a shutout, so I know I'm going to enjoy this one definitely and shoot hopefully we can stack a few more of these up," McDuffie says.
Kansas City took control of the game from the get go, forcing the Raiders to punt and then putting together a nine play drive that ended with a two yard touchdown pass to Rashee Rice, who was playing in his first game since returning from his six game suspension, celebrating by punting the ball into the stands.
The next Las Vegas drive again ended with a punt, and Kansas City drove the length of the field again to score, this time with a long 17 play drive that also included a tricky 4th and 1 conversion where Patrick Mahomes faked out the defense, handing the ball to Kareem Hunt for a three yard run. For the fourth time in as many games, Mahomes ended the drive connecting with Hollywood Brown for an eight yard touchdown pass.
Kansas City's long drive carried the game into the second quarter, and again after scoring the Chiefs forced the Raiders to punt on a three and out, and again used a long drive, this time just 16 plays, to score for a third consecutive drive, Mahomes finding Rice again, this time for a three yard touchdown pass after Kansas City drove 94 yards down the field. A six yard run by Raiders rookie Ashton Jeanty ended the first half, with the Chiefs leading 21-0.
Mahomes ended the first half with 206 passing yards and three touchdowns. Since 2000, Mahomes is the only quarterback to have 200 passing yards and three passing touchdowns on the first three drives of the game.
Brown says its nice to be out there when the offense is clicking the way it was
"It's hard to beat Pat by himself, and then you know you've got so many weapons on offense and so it's tough, it's tough," Brown explains. "So, we've just got to focus on what we're doing in the building, being there when he needs us to be, he's playing lights out so it's fun."
The start of the third quarter was no different from the rest of the game, as the Chiefs again used a long drive of 11 plays to score and extend their lead, just pushing the ball downfield on the Raiders for Isiah Pacheco to score his first rushing touchdown of the season, second touchdown overall. Then, after another Raiders punt, Kansas City put the cap on the scoring, driving down for a field goal, Harrison Butker knocking it through from 38 yards out.
Las Vegas turned the ball over on downs on their next drive, and to start the fourth quarter, it was backup quarterback Gardner Minshew who took the field for Kansas City. Both teams exchanged punts, albeit one drive that ended with defensive tackle Jerry Tillery recovering a fumble, until the end of the game.
Not only did Kansas City hold the Raiders to zero points on the day, the defense also held them to under 100 total yards of offense. The Chiefs have gotten better week to week, defensive end George Karlaftis says that's just what they do as the season goes
"If you look back it's kind of been a trend with us just kind of proving all we can every single week and trying to keep getting better as the season goes," Karlaftis says. "That's we have done and that's what we're going to do."
Mahomes ended the day going 26-of-35 through the air for 286 yards with three touchdowns, also adding four rushes for 28 yards. Pacheco had 15 carries for 57 yards with the score while rookie Brashard Smith had 14 carries for 39 yards. Travis Kelce had just three catches for 54 yards, most coming on a big 44 yard reception in the first quarter, while Rice had seven catches for 42 yards and two touchdowns. Smith also had 42 yards receiving on five catches.
Kansas City is now 4-3 on the season, next they have a Monday Night Football matchup with the Washington Commanders at Arrowhead Stadium. Kickoff is at 7:15pm, pregame will air at 6 on both KFEQ (680AM/95.3FM) and Q Country (92.7 FM).
You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.