The Chiefs Didn’t Just Beat the Raiders — They Dismantled Every Part of Their Offense Like It Was Practice.QQ
The Kansas City Chiefs dominated the rival Las Vegas Raiders to such a thorough degree that it’s almost difficult to properly evaluate their longtime enemies, as Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes dominated time of possession to such a clear degree that the Raiders weren’t able to run much of a true gameplan.
Getting shut out 31-0 while Mahomes played against a defense that played like they had heard about the idea of defending receivers but hadn’t fully internalized the concept was bad enough, but the true depth of the Raiders’ failure made it to historically bad territory.
The Raiders ran just 30 offensive plays in the game, which is the fewest offensive plays run by a team since 2002. Every time this offense got the ball, it was clear that Chip Kelly had no idea how to solve the problems that Spagnuolo brought to the table.
In fact, Kansas City had as many first downs as the Raiders had offensive plays in the entire game. This was as one-sided a game as you will see in the NFL all year long, and a Chiefs team that badly needed a dominant performance saw its thirst firmly quenched by this win.
Chiefs beat Raiders in historically dominant Week 7 victory
From what few plays the Raiders did manage to put on tape in this game, it still seems as though they have not figured out how to give Ashton Jeanty an offensive line that can open up holes, all while veteran quarterback Geno Smith remains plagued by indecision.
Spagnuolo is putting together one of his better defensive coaching jobs in recent history. Kansas City, who came into the game ranked 11th in scoring defense, is doing this with a secondary that is much younger than past seasons and a pass rush that leaves something to be desired.
Over the last two weeks, the Chiefs have held arguably the best team in the NFC in the Detroit Lions to just 17 points in a primetime win and shut out a division rival. With the Commanders and Bills coming up soon after, it would behoove the Chiefs to keep this level of play up.
The Chiefs aren’t going to limit teams to three first downs ever week, but if they can keep these sorts of performances up, look for them to get right back on the horse and prove to the rest of the NFL that the dynasty is far from buried at this point.
