The Kansas City Chiefs had a surprisingly tough time defensively this past Sunday, giving up 27 points to Kirk Cousins and a scrappy Las Vegas Raiders team. Still, in typical Chiefs fashion, when one unit is struggling, another finds a way to pick up the slack, and this time it was an overdue position group.
Special teams have been a point of frustration amongst fans for a couple of years now, as flags have remained a consistent and concerning issue for the KC roster. However, this flipped on Sunday, as it was special teams coordinator Dave Toub's unit that set up the win.
Late in the game, rookie fifth-rounder Emmett Johnson made an incredibly athletic play, pinning the Raiders all the way on the one-yard line, courtesy of a booming punt from Matt Araiza. It forced Las Vegas into a really tough situation that they climbed out of for a time until Cousins threw the game-losing interception to rookie safety Xavier Nwankpa
Emmett Johnson doing his job on special teams 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/fce1Ayv1pD
— Avarie Howard (@avariehoward31) October 4, 2026
Another blow was struck earlier in the game as well when yet another rookie making an impact, linebacker Jeffrey Bassa, forced a fumble on a punt return that set up a 22-yard Kenneth Walker III TD scamper. It gave KC a two-score lead and ultimately pushed the game out of reach.
Jeffrey Bassa forces the fumble and wins the game for the Chiefs 🦆 #ProDucks pic.twitter.com/PIV6bhNYfO
— Oregon Updates (@oregon__updates) October 4, 2026
Chiefs special teams made game-winning plays in Sunday's exciting division showdown
This game needs to be a building block for Toub's unit and not simply an outlier. Special teams is so often overlooked until there are consistent problems. The kicking game has been strong for the Chiefs in both the punting department and with Harrison Butker rounding back into form after previous concerns.
What is holding the Chiefs back is playing clean football and not making self-inflicted mistakes that create chances for the opposing team to take advantage. Sunday's win was a step in the right direction and a much-needed win for the much-respected Toub.
Sunday was a small win for Toub, who has been at the center of firing talks as of late. As much credit as Kenneth Walker deserves for his offensive prowess, yet again, special teams deserves flowers as well for what was accomplished with the game on the line.
Flashy plays aren't needed every week from teams. But what the Chiefs can't keep continuing to have is a third of the team being a complete net negative every time they touch the field.
Add us as a preferred source on Google