Kansas City Chiefs: 10 likes and 10 dislikes after Week 13 vs Oakland

The Kansas City Chiefs wrapped up Week 13 with not only a dominating 31-point win over the Oakland Raiders, but also with a stranglehold on the AFC West.

After winning 40-9 on Sunday afternoon, the Kansas City Chiefs have defeated the Raiders in both of the teams’ match-ups this season. That’s particularly huge considering the Raiders are the only team with a shot at catching the Chiefs in the AFC West this season.

But now, Kansas City stands at 8-4 with the head-to-head tiebreaker over Oakland, who fell to 6-6.

Now, here are my 10 likes and 10 dislikes from the victory.

10 Likes

1. Reid’s Dominance After Idle Weeks Continues

In Andy Reid‘s 21st game as a head coach after a bye week, his teams improved to 18-3 in those games. The man does wonders with an extra week to prepare for his opponent. That would certainly come in handy in the playoffs, but it doesn’t look like the Chiefs will get any time off, unless they make the Super Bowl.

Still, Reid’s idle week magic helped the Chiefs essentially put their stamp on the AFC West yet again.

2. Thornhill & Thompson: Stellar Days by the Rookies

Juan Thornhill, the Chiefs rookie safety out of Virginia, came up with two plays pretty close to one another. First, he made a huge tackle when the Raiders ran an end-around on a 4th-and-1, preventing Oakland from gaining the 1st. Then, on the very next series, he darted out of no where to pick off Derek Carr, returning the interception for a touchdown.

https://twitter.com/Chiefs/status/1201268570291933186

Darwin Thompson, the team’s sixth-rounder out of Utah State, hadn’t seen much action yet this season, but he played a key part in ending this route. He finished the day leading the team in carries (11) and rushing yards (44) while scoring his first career touchdown.

3. A Strong Secondary Showing

Derek Carr had another poor showing at Arrowhead Stadium, and his wide receivers certainly didn’t help him out. His wide-outs were contained for pretty much the entirety of the game save for the last, meaningless drive by the Raiders. Props all around to the Chiefs secondary for playing a lights-out game.

4. A Mad Scramble

Patrick Mahomes doesn’t run as much as the other young gunslingers taking the NFL by storm, like Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson or Houston’s Deshaun Watson. But Mahomes had a nice mad scramble against the Raiders this afternoon that went for a touchdown and put the Chiefs up 14-0.

https://twitter.com/Chiefs/status/1201266590903361536

Looks like he’s fully healed from his kneecap and ankle injuries that hampered him earlier this season.

5. Travis Kelce: Mr. Dependable

Every week, it seems, I touch on how Travis Kelce is Mahomes’ security blanket. Kelce was much more than that on Sunday, leading the team in receiving yards with 90 on five catches. He didn’t reach the end zone, but whenever Mahomes needed to hit a target to move the chains, or when he was looking to make something out of nothing, the opposite end of the equation was usually Kelce.