Final score: Chiefs survive Raiders, win 35-31

It felt as though the Las Vegas Raiders were about to clinch their first AFC West series sweep over the Kansas City Chiefs since 2012.

Quarterback Derek Carr had orchestrated a four-minute, 12-play drive, finishing with a 1-yard touchdown by tight end Jason Witten to put Las Vegas up 31-28 with 1:43 to go. The Chiefs only had one timeout remaining.

But in typical Patrick Mahomes fashion, the quarterback rallied his troops, marching down the field with chunk plays to wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Mecole Hardman. The final blow came when Mahomes found his most reliable 2020 target — tight end Travis Kelce — wide open in the end zone. A 22-yard touchdown gave the Chiefs a 35-31 victory in the first matchup between the two teams at Allegiant Stadium. The Chiefs improved to 9-1 on the season, with the Raiders dropping to 6-4.

Mahomes finished 34 of 45 for 348 yards, two touchdowns and his second interception of the season. Carr — who threw for 165 yards or less in each of the past three games entering Sunday night — finished 23 of 31 for 275 yards and three touchdowns. With less than 30 seconds on the clock, he threw his lone interception of the game into the hands of safety Daniel Sorensen, which sealed the win.

Receiving the ball first, Carr found tight end Darren Waller for 26 yards and wide receiver Nelson Agholar for 29 yards to set them up at the 15-yard line. Jacobs ran 13 yards and then 2 yards for the touchdown and early 7-0 lead.

The Chiefs heavily featured Hill on their opening offensive drive, targeting him five times, including a 3-yard touchdown. Carr and the Raiders responded quickly with a deep 17-yard throw to Agholar to put the Raiders up 14-7.

In the second quarter Raiders cornerback Damon Arnette committed pass interference of tight end Travis Kelce to bring the Chiefs to the Raiders 3-yard line, and running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire powered through the Raiders defensive line for a touchdown.

After a Raiders field goal, Mahomes threw his second interception of the season, and the teams entered the halftime locker room with Las Vegas clinging to a 17-14 lead.

The Chiefs took more than eight minutes off the clock with the opening drive in the second half, as the offense mixed in Edwards-Helaire, Le’Veon Bell, Hill and Kelce. Edwards-Helaire capped the drive off with a 14-yard touchdown to put Kansas City up 21-17.

On the next drive, tight end Darren Waller caught a wide open 3-yard touchdown pass to give the Raiders a 24-21 lead. Kansas City quickly responded with Bell’s first touchdown as a member of the Chiefs.

Kelce and Hill were the standouts on offense for the Chiefs, with 127 and 102 yards, respectively. Each had a touchdown reception in the win. Edwards-Helaire finished with 69 rushing yards and the two touchdowns.

Injuries

• The NBC broadcast noted wide receiver Byron Pringle injured his ankle during the second half.

Special teams

• Wide receiver Byron Pringle returned three kicks for the Chiefs. Wide receiver Demarcus Robinson was on punt-return duty.
• Harrison Butker made all five Chiefs extra points.

Rapid reaction

• The game’s rapid reaction will be posted to our homepage shortly.

Statistics