Kansas City Chiefs narrowly survive against Las Vegas Raiders with 19-17 win

The Kansas City Chiefs are 11-1, but needed plenty of Black Friday luck to get there.

But, as has now been the case in 14 consecutive one-score games, the Chiefs found a way to hang when it counted most, this time in the form of a 19-17 win at home over the Las Vegas Raiders.

This Black Friday finish was one of their most bizarre yet. After failing on a third-and-short deep shot from quarterback Patrick Mahomes to wide receiver Xavier Worthy, Kansas City punted to Las Vegas with just under two minutes to play. Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell then led his group right down the field, reaching field goal range with just 14 seconds to play after going 5-of-7 passing on the drive, including a spike.

That’s when calamity struck for the now 2-10 Raiders. Center Jackson Powers-Johnson snapped the ball early, ricocheting it off O’Connell’s right arm. Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton fell on the loose ball, Kansas City declined a penalty on the Raiders and sealed the harrowing win.

Mahomes went 26-of-46 passing in the win for 306 yards and a touchdown, good for an 84.1 passer rating. Wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins was his top target, catching four passes for 90 yards.

Running back Isiah Pacheco returned to the line for the first time since Week 2, rushing seven times for 44 yards. As a team, the Chiefs ran just 16 times for 63 yards, and only one time on their 16 third-down attempts.

O’Connell had one of the biggest games of his young career in the losing effort. We finished 23-of-25 passing for 340 yards and two touchdowns. Raiders tight end Brock Bowers caught 10 of those passes for a game-high 140 yards and a score.

Kansas City will have a couple extra days off before another divisional battle next week against the Los Angeles Chargers. That game will also be at Arrowhead Stadium and will be on Sunday Night Football, with kickoff set for 7:20 p.m. on Dec. 8.

For more coverage of the Kansas City Chiefs, check out 580 Sports Talk weekday afternoons from 3-6 on 580 WIBW.