KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Raiders hunkered down to stop the Kansas City Chiefs, who were facing fourth-and-1 on their own 40. Las Vegas already was trailing by a touchdown Sunday, but the outcome between longtime AFC West rivals was still very much in doubt.
Patrick Mahomes got under center. He surveyed the defense. He barked a couple of times, then muttered so loudly that not only the Raiders could hear him but also the TV cameras, which didn't have time to censor some choice language.
"This play never (bleeping) works, man!" Mahomes yelled.
It was all a ruse. And the Raiders were fooled. They relaxed ever-so-slightly, thinking the Chiefs were trying to draw them off and ultimately would punt. So when Mahomes snapped the ball a second later, and handed to Kareem Hunt, he had enough room to pick up the first down. The Chiefs finished off the drive with another touchdown, and they never looked back in a 31-0 victory -- their most lopsided shutout of the Raiders in the 133 times that the two teams have met.
When asked about his acting chops afterward, Mahomes replied: "I think it comes from all my State Farm commercials," as the room erupted in laughter.
Lots of people were left making fun of the Raiders on Sunday.
They managed three first downs, becoming the first team with that many since they also had three against the Falcons on Nov. 2, 2008. They ran 30 plays, the second-fewest of any game in the Super Bowl era; the expansion Browns had 28 against Pittsburgh in their first game. And they finished with 96 yards of offense, the fourth-fewest in franchise history.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs piled up 434 yards. They went 9 of 15 on third down, and at one point were 8 of 9. They held the ball for 42 minutes, 8 seconds, which meant the Raiders had it for a measly 17:52 in the 60-minute affair.
"I think we beat ourselves, for the most part," said Raiders quarterback Geno Smith, who was 10 of 16 for 67 yards before giving way to Kenny Pickett, who immediately fumbled the first snap he took in the game.
"You know, they're a great, great team. Historically great team," Smith said. "They've been, you know, together for a while. They understand what it takes to win. And we're a developing team. And so whenever you come out and you don't play the right way, and you shoot yourself in the foot early on, you don't take advantage of your opportunities, it's going to be an uphill battle."
It was an uphill battle even before kickoff, when the Raiders ruled out All-Pro tight end Brock Bowers with a knee injury and wide receiver Jakobi Meyers with knee and toe injuries. Then they lost all-everything pass rusher Maxx Crosby late in the first half with his own knee injury, and defensive tackle Adam Butler went down with a back injury.
Uphill battle? Probably felt like scaling a wall.
Coach Pete Carroll said that Crosby's knee was "a bit sore," and that he wanted to continue playing. "But we had to yank him," Carroll said, "because he just didn't look right." He will be examined again Monday to determine the severity of the injury.
"NFL is a hard game as it is. It's never going to be easy," Smith said. "We've got tough games every week. When you don't play the right way, and you don't play up to your standard, it's going to be extremely tough to win games."
The biggest silver lining for Las Vegas might have been the fact that Smith didn't add to the 10 interceptions that he's already thrown this season. It certainly wasn't Ashton Jeanty, the star rookie, who had just six carries for 21 yards.
Nor was it anyone on the Las Vegas defense, which struggled to deal with the speed Kansas City suddenly has available. Wide receiver Xavier Worthy is healthy after hurting his shoulder in the opener, and Rashee Rice returned from a six-game suspension and played for the first time since Week 4 last season, when he tore his ACL in a collision with his quarterback.
Rice finished with two of Mahomes' three touchdown throws and seven catches in all. Travis Kelce had 54 yards receiving. Worthy had three catches and an end-around that went for 13 yards. Marquise Brown had his third TD catch in two games. And nine different players hauled in a reception for Kansas City on the afternoon.
"My heart goes out to Pete. Pete and I have been doing this a long time," Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. "You see him, the team with the injuries, man - that's just crushing for them, especially when (Crosby) goes out of the game. That's a tough thing for a guy to go through. I know it's the Raiders. I know we like to get after the Raiders. But you hate to see that."
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press
