Raiders Need to Make Rivalry Competitive Vs. Chiefs
There is no team that members of Raider Nation would love to see the Las Vegas Raiders defeat more than the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, their arch-rivals.
However, that’s much easier said than done.
The Raiders and Chiefs will play for the 130th time on Christmas Day at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, and the Silver and Black trail 73-54-2 in the all-time series, which dates back 64 years to when both were charter members in the inaugural season of the American Football League.
The Chiefs have beaten the Raiders in the last six games the teams have played and in 16 of the last 18 meetings.
Also, Kansas City (9-5) is on the verge of claiming the AFC West title for the eighth consecutive season, while Las Vegas (6-8) is struggling to reach the NFL playoffs with three games remaining in the regular season.
The Raiders have not won the AFC West title since 2002.
“It’s a challenge, the rivalry,” said Raiders Interim Coach Antonio Pierce, who has a 3-3 record since taking over when Coach Josh McDaniels was fired. “This has been a team that’s won Super Bowls. They’re a championship-caliber team.
“They’ve dominated the division since quarterback Patrick Mahomes has taken over. It’s our job to go out there and give them the best fight. But give them their flowers -- they're the defending Super Bowl champions. … We expect the best from them.”
Mahomes has a 10-1 record against the Raiders since he came to the Chiefs as the 10th overall selection of the 2017 NFL Draft, throwing for 3,338 yards and 29 touchdowns with only three interceptions for a quarterback rating of 113.5 during those games.
Also, Kansas City Coach Andy Reid has an 18-3 mark against the Silver and Black.
The Raiders built a 14-0 lead over the Chiefs on rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell’s 18-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jakobi Meyers and running back Josh Jacobs’ 63-yard scoring run when the teams played last month at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
However, the Raiders didn’t score another touchdown, and Mahomes passed for 298 yards and two touchdowns as Kansas City rolled to a 31-17 victory before 62,441 fans.
The last time the Silver and Black defeated the Chiefs, quarterback Derek Carr passed for 347 yards and three touchdowns, and Jacobs rushed for 77 yards and two scores in the fourth quarter as the Raiders rallied from a 21-10 deficit for a 40-32 victory at Arrowhead Stadium in 2020.
That is the only time the Raiders have beaten Mahomes.
The most notable game in the long-running series from the Raiders’ point of view came in a 1968 AFL Divisional playoff game at the Oakland Coliseum.
Hall of Fame guard and captain Gene Upshaw of the Raiders went to midfield before the game for the coin flip, and the great Chiefs linebacker Willie Lanier won the toss.
Las Vegas Raiders need to make the rivalry competitive vs. Kansas City Chiefs
@USA Today
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 believed its powerful defense could shut down the Raiders.
“You what?” Upshaw asked incredulously, and when Lanier repeated it, Upshaw responded with: “You’ll regret this,” and he yelled the same thing to Chiefs Coach Hand Stram over on the Kansas City sideline.
When Upshaw returned to the Oakland sideline, he told his teammates: “Buckle up your chinstraps. We’ve just been insulted.”
The Chiefs and Raiders entered the game with 12-2 records and tied for the AFL West title, but the Silver and the Silver and Black dominated this game from start to finish in a 41-6 rout before 53,605 ecstatic fans.
However, two years later, when the Raiders and Chiefs played in the last AFL Championship Game, the Silver and Black took an early 7-0 lead before Kansas City intercepted three passes by quarterback Daryle Lamonica and dominated the rest of the way in a 17-7 victory at the Oakland Coliseum.
Still, fans of Raider Nation would like to go back to how things were in the good old days when the Raiders were, at the very least, competitive against the Chiefs.
On Christmas Day at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, the Silver and Black will return to action versus their AFC West rivals, the Kansas City Chiefs. Don't miss it on Monday, December 25, at 1 p.m. EST/10 a.m. PST.
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