KC Chiefs: Five things we learned in week 13 win vs Raiders

The KC Chiefs blew the doors off the Oakland Raiders, winning 40-9 over their divisional foes. What did we learn about the Chiefs in this blowout victory?

Feels good, doesn’t it, Chiefs fans? It is never a bad thing when you blowout a division rival by five scores at home. This win against the Raiders pretty much locked up the division for the Kansas City Chiefs with three more games to go.

In a win, we can learn a lot and here’s what we learned.

Team Win

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In the swirling winds at Arrowhead, both sides of the ball are going to have to play well. The Chiefs offense had its moments, but they are a downfield passing team, so the elements were going to have a bad effect on it.

The defense had two picks, one each by Tyrann Mathieu and Juan Thornhill, with the rookie safety returning his for six. Oh, and Special Teams even scored on a blocked extra point to close things out.

In these closing games, it is important for all three phases to be clicking and we saw that come together beautifully on Sunday.

Carr’s Woes Continue

Derek Carr absolutely SUCKS at Arrowhead and that continued on Sunday. There is something about Kansas City that just seems to give Carr a bad case of the yips. He has never played well in Arrowhead and I don’t think that is going to change any time soon.

Derek Carr is 2-10 all-time against the Chiefs with both wins coming at Oakland. Will things change? They might because this is the NFL and they are moving to Las Vegas next year, but for now, Carr is 0-6 at Arrowhead Stadium and that’s great news for Chiefs fans.

Overturning Pass Interference Just Got Murkier

As if we knew what pass interference was in terms of overturning it was murky, it just got worse.  Andy Reid challenged what he believed was pass interference against Sammy Watkins and it looked like it was, but it wasn’t overturned.

Then later in the game, on what was believed a Patrick Mahomes interception, but a receiver being grabbed by a Raiders defender, the booth reviewed it and determined it was pass interference, not an interception.  The Chiefs would score on the very next play on a LeSean McCoy touchdown run.

Much like a catch, no one knows what constitutes overturning or granting a pass interference call.  In my humble opinion, they should just scrap it. Teams are wasting challenges on this and in 90% of cases, it isn’t getting changed. I was certainly glad to see the second one overturned however.

Run, Darwin, Run

The Chiefs turned to rookie Darwin Thompson to help close out the game and he delivered on the final non-kneel down drive. He had 11 carries for 44 yards and his first NFL touchdown in his first glimpse of true NFL action. Those were tough yards when the Chiefs needed them the most and is something they have sorely missed this season.

The team needs to get the run game going, otherwise teams are just going to sit back and defend the pass. If Thompson can get moving, especially when it gets colder as it does in Kansas City, things will open up even more for the passing offense. The only way to find out is to feed him the rock and give him touches.

Chiefs are healthy

The injury to Darrel Williams and Frank Clark notwithstanding, the Chiefs came out of this game healthy. This is huge after all the injuries the Chiefs have dealt with all season.

When the Chiefs are healthy, they are a top three team in the league. Patrick Mahomes is 100% and so is Tyreek Hill plus all the guys on defense that have been hurt. Teams that are healthy will have the most success, especially as we get closer to the playoffs.

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This was a solid game for the KC Chiefs even if Patrick Mahomes didn’t play his best game. Beating Oakland puts the Chiefs in the driver seat for their fourth straight division title.

The Kansas City Chiefs are the best team in the AFC West and they proved that by embarrassing the Raiders. The Chiefs have a real test next week when they visit New England, but if the defense plays well and the Chiefs play mistake free football, they could sneak out of Foxboro with the W.