Final score: Chiefs take AFC West lead with 41-14 blowout of the Raiders

Less than a month removed from being alone in last place of the AFC West, the Kansas City Chiefs (6-4) have quickly climbed to the top of the standings with a 41-14 manhandling of the Las Vegas Raiders (5-4), who were tied with the Los Angeles Chargers (5-4) for first place. Kansas City’s stretch of four divisional games in six weeks started off as strong as could be imagined.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes finished with 35 completions on 50 pass attempts, totaling 406 yards and five touchdowns through the air; he was not sacked once and had a 127.6 passer rating. Running back Darrel Williams led the skill-position players with 144 total yards and a touchdown on 20 touches. Tight end Travis Kelce led receivers with eight catches on 119 yards. Defensive tackle Jarran Reed earned a sack while forcing an interception — and cornerback Rashad Fenton forced a fumble.

The Raiders won the opening coin toss, deferring to the second half. The Chiefs started by getting quickly into a third-and-5, which turned into a third-and-10 after a false start by left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. The conversion attempt failed when Mahomes was forced to check down — with his left hand — short of the sticks.

From their own 30-yard line, Las Vegas worked into a third-and-1 that they converted with a rush by running back Josh Jacobs. Shortly after, a third-and-2 was stopped short with a great tackle by cornerback L’Jarius Sneed. On fourth-and-inches, there was a false start — which was followed by a punt.

Kansas City’s second drive started inside their own 20-yard line, advancing with big pass plays for tight end Travis Kelce and running back Darrel Williams. Past midfield, a fake reverse ended in another intermediate reception for Kelce. In the red zone, a quick pass to wide receiver Tyreek Hill set up third-and-inches — which was converted with a under-center sneak by tight end Blake Bell. The next snap turned into a touchdown pass to Hill, giving the Chiefs a 7-0 lead.

Las Vegas tried to respond, but quickly got into a third-and-8 by way of another untimely false start. On the conversion attempt, a completed pass was stopped short of the sticks once again by Sneed — forcing the second punt of the game. The ensuing return was fumbled, allowing the Raiders to retain possession.

From midfield, the Raiders got a 28-yard gain through the air to wide receiver Bryan Edwards, who got to the Chiefs’ 23-yard line as the first quarter concluded.

Vegas started the second quarter getting into third-and-6, attempting a deep pass to Edwards once again that fell incomplete — but cornerback Rashad Fenton was called for defensive pass interference. The Raiders took over inside the 5-yard line, scoring a touchdown on a corner route to wide receiver Hunter Renfrow two plays later. They tied the game at seven points with 13 minutes remaining in the first half.

The Chiefs responded by sustaining a drive with plays like a 21-yard run by Darrel Williams and a few catch-and-runs by Kelce. On third down inside Las Vegas territory, Mahomes looked for wide receiver Demarcus Robinson streaking towards the back of the end zone — but led him too far. They settled for a field goal to take a 10-7 lead.

On the following drive, Las Vegas started with a 12-yard run — but couldn’t get any further; on third-and-long, defensive tackle Jarran Reed broke through the pass protection for a drive-ending sack.

With five minutes remaining in the first half, the Chiefs quickly got into opposing territory by getting the ball to Kelce at the intermediate level of the defense. Soon after, Mahomes found wide receiver Mecole Hardman shooting across the field, and his speed allowed him to get all the way inside the 15-yard line. On third-and-5 a few snaps later, the Raiders encroached — and Williams could not convert with an inside run on third-and-inches.

After the two-minute warning, Williams did convert on fourth-and-inches. From the one-yard line, the Chiefs extended their lead to 17-7 with a play-action fake that led to an easy Hill touchdown reception.

Trying to respond before halftime, Las Vegas failed to get a first down on three passes; two of them were forced incomplete via two good coverage plays by safety Tyrann Mathieu and Rashad Fenton.

With less than a minute remaining, the Chiefs’ attempt to score before halftime started off strong with two decent gains through the air by wide receiver Byron Pringle. Past midfield, Mahomes had Pringle downfield for a touchdown — but led him too far. On third-and-10 with under 30 seconds remaining, Mahomes fired to Kelce past the sticks over the middle. They eventually attempted a field goal to end the first half, but missed; the Chiefs went into the third quarter with the 17-7 lead.

Las Vegas started the second half with two big, back-to-back pass plays — one being a 22-yard strike to wide receiver Zay Jones and the next being a 37-yard touchdown pass to Bryan Edwards. The quick score made it 17-14.

The Chiefs answered, starting by getting past a third-and-4 with a 13-yard pass to wide receiver Demarcus Robinson; a play later, they got an extra 15 yards on an unnecessary roughness penalty by defensive end Maxx Crosby. A chunk gain by Williams through the air got them deeper into opposing territory and a run by Jerick McKinnon advanced the offense into the red zone. On third-and-goal, a jet sweep for Hardman got close to the pylon but was short. On fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line, Mahomes found rookie tight end Noah Gray through traffic to score the touchdown.

Down 24-14 midway through the third quarter, the Raiders started a drive by getting 24 yards through the air with a throw to Bryan Edwards. On the next play, Raiders wide receiver DeSean Jackson caught a deep pass — but Rashad Fenton punched the ball out and Tyrann Mathieu recovered, returned the ball to the Chiefs’ 27-yard line.

Mahomes started the next drive by finding Hill for 16 yards over the middle on a run-pass option play. Two runs with Williams set up a third-and-short, where Mahomes found Hill for 32 yards. Deep in Las Vegas territory, the Chiefs got into third-and-long from the 17-yard line — but pressure forced Mahomes to throw it away. A successful field goal made the score 27-14 in the closing minutes of the third quarter.

Looking to get back into it before the fourth quarter began, a third-down pass by Carr was disrupted by pressure from Jarran Reed and edge rusher Melvin Ingram. The floating pass ended in the arms of safety Dan Sorensen.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Mahomes overthrew an open Hill on an outside vertical route on third down. On the ensuing fourth down, they faked a punt attempt by having punter Tommy Townsend throw a pass to wide receiver Marcus Kemp lined up at gunner. They converted — and a few plays later, a scrambling Mahomes gave Darrel Williams a jump-ball attempt in the end zone over safety Jonathan Abram. Williams came down with the pass to extend the lead to 34-14.

As the Raiders tried to put a dent in their deficit, they failed to get anything going, punting it back to the Chiefs after electing not to go for it on fourth-and-5.

Kansas City made them pay for their decision, driving down the field with help from a 30-yard reception by Kelce. That was followed by a 22-yard touchdown reception by Pringle. The extra point made the score 41-14.

Las Vegas used garbage time to slowly move down the field, getting into Chiefs territory with a fourth-down conversion and quick passes to running back Kenyan Drake. Deep in Chiefs territory, the Raiders got into third-and-goal — but defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi brought down Derek Carr for a sack. On fourth down, an attempted pass fell incomplete.

Injuries

Cornerback Charvarius Ward left the game at some point in the third quarter; he was officially ruled questionable to return with an illness designation.

Special teams

Reserve cornerback Mike Hughes got more opportunities to return punts on Sunday night. In the first quarter, he earned 37 yards on a returned punt before fumbling and giving the Raiders the ball back. They went on to score a touchdown on that possession.

Kicker Harrison Butker converted on a 40-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter; right before halftime, he attempted a 46-yard field goal — but missed wide left. Late in the third quarter, he extended the lead with a 35-yard field goal.

Punter Tommy Townsend took a snap in a punt formation and immediately threw it to gunner Marcus Kemp for a first down.

Statistics