5 winners from Chiefs’ blowout victory over Raiders in Week 7: Kansas City reestablished as one of NFL’s elite
No negatives for the Chiefs this week.
Typically, I select a handful of winners and losers following a Kansas City Chiefs game, but this week, there were no losers to be found, except, of course, the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Chiefs dominated the Raiders from bell-to-bell, shutting them out 31-0. Kansas City’s offense moved the ball at will, and Las Vegas simply had no fight on either side of the ball. The Chiefs’ record may not reflect it at the moment, but Kansas City has returned to elite status.
Here are my five biggest winners from Sunday.
WR Rashee Rice
All eyes were on Rice as he made his return to regular season action after missing over a year with a knee injury and a suspension. Rice made his presence known immediately, catching two passes on K.C.’s opening drive, one of which went for a touchdown.
He finished the game with seven receptions on 10 targets for 42 yards and two TDs. There was no rust factor for Rice whatsoever, and he has already reestablished himself as a force within the Chiefs’ offense.
QB Patrick Mahomes
Mahomes has been on a tear over the past five weeks, completing 69 percent of his passes for 1,355 yards and 14 TDs, with just one interception during that span. On Sunday against the Raiders, he became the first player in NFL history to throw for 200 yards and three TDs during a team’s first three drives of a game.
Mahomes finished the game with 286 yards and three TDs, completing passes to nine different receivers. Now that he has his full arsenal of weapons, Mahomes is playing as consistently well as he has since 2022. He won MVP that year and is firmly in the running to win it again in 2025.
RB Brashard Smith
Smith has been given a bit more to do each week. He got his biggest workload of the season against Las Vegas, recording 14 carries for 39 yards, along with five catches for 42 yards. Part of that is because K.C. had the game well in hand, but it was good for him to get the work nonetheless.
Smith has made an impact as a pass catcher, averaging 8.7 yards per reception this season. The role he is carving out is reminiscent of what Jerick McKinnon was during his tenure with the Chiefs. With all the other weapons opposing defenses have to worry about, Smith should continue to have plenty of opportunities to make an impact out of the backfield.
K Harrison Butker
For the first time this season, Butker was perfect on all of his extra point and field goal attempts. He hit all four PATs and a 38-yard field goal during the third quarter. It was a bit of a windy day in K.C., which makes his performance even more encouraging.
Hopefully, this is the beginning of a turnaround for Butker. He has quietly been a vital piece to the Chiefs’ dynasty, and will doubt be faced with more big kicks in the future. Butker potentially being back to form will complement the Chiefs’ high-scoring offense well.
Chiefs’ defense
I’m going to label K.C.’s entire defense as a winner this week after it pitched a shutout for the first time since the 2015 wild-card round against the Houston Texans. The Raiders’ offense recorded just three first-downs, and only ran 30 plays the entire game.
Las Vegas didn’t convert a single third or fourth down and finished with a lowly 95 total offensive yards. The Chiefs didn’t force a turnover and only picked up one sack, but that actually makes how they limited the Raiders even more impressive.
Kansas City Chiefs News
Chiefs HC Andy Reid provides injury updates on Omarr Norman-Lott, Trey Smith after dominant Week 7 win over Raiders
Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid provided an update on injured players following the Week 7 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
