KC Chiefs: Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce to the rescue vs Raiders

The KC Chiefs managed to win an ugly game against the Raiders and Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce were to thank for the W.

That was an incredibly ugly game for the Kansas City Chiefs, but when push came to shove, this team persevered. Patrick Mahomes proved once again why he’s the frontrunner for the MVP award and Travis Kelce helped him prove it, getting wide open on that final offensive possession and catching the game-winning touchdown as a result.

Mahomes went 34-of-45 for 348 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception while rushing for another 16 yards. When it came down to it, Mahomes did what he had to do to propel this team to victory, but that’s a little easier to do when Kelce is your tight end.

Kelce finished the evening with eight catches for 127 yards and a touchdown, which was THE touchdown on the night. Kelce always gives the Raiders a tough time and Sunday night was no exception for the Chiefs tight end.

Aside from Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, the KC Chiefs didn’t have much to hang their hat on.

The defense was atrocious on Sunday night, allowing Derek Carr to look like an MVP candidate and only forced two punts the entire evening. While they were able to pick off Carr on the final play of the game, it’d have been nice to have seen SOMETHING out of them before then. This defense has taken a step back, there’s no debating that and with the Buccaneers up next, that’s concerning for sure.

The run game did play well, which was a good sign. Clyde Edwards-Helaire had two touchdowns along with 69 rushing yards while Le’Veon Bell had his first touchdown as a Chief. It was good to see the Chiefs stick with the run a little more on Sunday night more than they had been in recent games.

While Mahomes and Kelce were incredible on Sunday Night Football, the rest of this team has some big problems. Yes, they beat the Raiders and there will be no repeat of the “circling the bus around the stadium” situation, but this was an ugly win. But, because the Chiefs avoided being swept by the Raiders gained on them in the divisional race, I’ll save my frustrations for another day.

For now, let’s celebrate Thanksgiving early by thanking the football gods that the Chiefs have both Mahomes and Kelce on their offense. They don’t win this game without either of those guys.