Raiders Have Had Their Moments Vs. Chiefs

The Oakland-Los Angeles-Las Vegas Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs, who started out as the Dallas Texans, have been battling each other for 63 seasons heading into their Monday Night Football showdown at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

The Raiders and then-Texans were charter members of the American Football League in 1960 and have faced each other at least twice in every season since as they were in the AFC Western Division then and now in the National Football League’s AFC West.

The Chiefs have dominated the series, 70-54-2, including 2-1 in the post-season, and have increased that margin by winning the last three games in a row and eight of the last nine. The best streak the Raiders had against one of their greatest rivals was winning seven in a row from 1975-78 in an overall run of 10 victories in 11 games.

Unquestionably, the most cherished game against the Chiefs for longtime members of Raider Nation came in an AFC Divisional Playoff Game at the Oakland Coliseum in 1968. Raiders legendary guard and captain Gene Upshaw, a future Hall of Famer, went to midfield before the game for the coin flip and the great Chiefs linebacker Willie Lanier, won the toss.

Lanier said the Chiefs would defend the South goal line, meaning the Raiders would receive the kickoff at the start of both halves. Kansas City obviously believed its powerful defense could shut down the Raiders.

“You what?” asked Upshaw, who couldn’t believe his ears, and when Lanier repeated it, Upshaw told him: “You’ll regret this,” and Uppy yelled the same thing to Chiefs Coach Hand Stram over on the Kansas City sideline.

When Upshaw got back to the Oakland sideline, he told his teammates: “Buckle up your chinstraps. We’ve just been insulted.”

Quarterback Daryle Lamonica passed for 347 yards and five touchdowns, three in the first quarter, and the Raiders dominated from start to finish and held the Chiefs without a touchdown in a 41-6 rout.

Another memorable Raiders-Chiefs game came in Week 7 of the 1970 season at Municipal Stadium in Kansas City, where the Chiefs held a 17-14 lead and were running out the clock to wrap up the victory when quarterback Lenny Dawson ran for what seemed to be a clinching first down before sliding to the ground.

However, you had to touch a quarterback—or any other players who went down in that manner in those days—so 6-8, 280-pound defensive end Ben Davidson of the Raiders came running at full speed and did a forward rollover Dawson.

Kansas City wide receiver Otis Taylor took exception to the move and went after Davidson, a brawl ensued, and offsetting penalties were called.

The Chiefs failed to get the first down when the third down was replayed, the Raiders got the ball back and George Blanda kicked a 48-yard field goal with eight seconds left to salvage a 20-20 tie. Oakland went on to win the AFC West that season with an 8-4-2 record, with the Chiefs finishing 7-5-2.

The Raiders beat the Chiefs, 27-24 and 10-6, during the 1969 regular season and were favored to repeat that victory at the Oakland Coliseum in the 10th and last AFL Championship Game before the AFL-NFL merger was completed in 1970.

Charlie Smith rushed three yards for a touchdown to give the Raiders a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, but Lamonica injured his throwing hand when he hit it on the helmet of defensive end Aaron Brown in the second quarter and he had to leave the game. Blanda came in and was ineffective, completing 2-of-6 passes and throwing two interceptions before Lamonica returned in the second half but with his hand obviously hurting, he threw three interceptions.

Wendell Hayes ran one yard for a touchdown in the second quarter as the Chiefs tied the score, Robert Holmes added a five-yard scoring run in the third quarter and Jan Stenerud kicked a 22-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to cap a 17-7 victory.

The Chiefs went on to beat the Minnesota Vikings, 23-7, in Super Bowl IV, while it was a heartbreaking end to the season for the Raiders, who didn’t win pro football’s biggest game until the 1976 season, when they beat the Chiefs twice en route to a 13-1 record and defeated the Minnesota Vikings, 32-14, in Super Bowl XI.

Kansas City beat the San Francisco 49ers, 31-20, in Super Bowl LIV three seasons ago and lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 31-9, the following year, while the Raiders haven’t been back since losing Super Bowl XXXVII to the Buccaneers, 48-21, to end the 2002 season.

The Raiders could show they are ready for a return trip by beating the Chiefs on Monday night.

The Las Vegas Raiders travel to Arrowhead Stadium to take on the Kansas City Chiefs next. That game is on today, Oct. 10, and it can be seen on ESPN. The game starts at 8:15 p.m. EDT/5:15 p.m. PDT.

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