CHIEFS TURN BACK Raiders in a slugfest.
LAS VEGAS — Patrick Mahomes threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Travis Kelce with 28 seconds to play, and the Kansas City Chiefs avenged their only loss in the last 12 months with a 35-31 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday night.
Mahomes passed for 348 yards and led two go-ahead scoring drives in the frantic fourth quarter for the defending Super Bowl champions, who split their season series with Las Vegas (6-4) in dramatic fashion.
Kelce caught eight passes for 127 yards for the Chiefs (91), who are in firm control of the race for their fifth consecutive AFC West title — but only after another comeback led by their Super Bowl MVP, who rebounded impressively from his second interception of the season late in the first half.
“I’d take him over everybody,” Kansas City Coach Andy Reid said of Mahomes. “And I’m lucky to have him, as we are as a football team, as we are as a city. When you’re behind, he can make things happen. ”
The Raiders led 24-21 on Darren Waller’s TD catch on the first play of the fourth quarter, but Mahomes led a 91-yard scoring drive midway through the period capped by Le’Veon Bell’s first TD for Kansas City.
Derek Carr and the Raiders replied with a crisp drive ending on Jason Witten’s 1-yard TD catch with 1:43 left.
But the Chiefs’ powerhouse offense needed only 75 seconds to go 75 yards for another score, with Mahomes going 6 of 7 on the drive. Kelce got open across the middle for a comfortable score.
“The whole thing I was saying on the sideline is, we’ve got Patrick Mahomes,” running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire said of watching the Raiders’ last scoring drive. “I’m not worried about anything.”
Daniel Sorensen then picked off a heave to midfield by Carr with 19 seconds left.
Carr passed for 275 yards and three touchdowns in a strong performance, but the Raiders couldn’t match their offensive excellence in their 40-32 win at Kansas City last month. The Chiefs have won five in a row since that defeat.
“It’s as good as you can play,” Raiders Coach Jon Gruden said of Carr. “He had four or five balls that were magnificent throws that we could have caught that we didn’t make the play on. He played tremendous tonight. He played almost flawless.”
Nelson Agholor also caught a TD and Josh Jacobs rushed for a score for the Raiders.
Tyreek Hill caught an early TD pass for the Chiefs, and Edwards-Helaire rushed for 69 yards and two TDs as Kansas City responded to a rare defeat with an inspired performance. These rivals’ mutual distaste was obvious throughout the night, with plenty of confrontations and yapping after whistles.
The Raiders capped their win in Kansas City last month with a victory lap around Arrowhead Stadium in their team buses, a swaggering gesture that annoyed the Chiefs and Reid.