By The Associated Press’s Dave Skretta
Kansas City, Missouri. With 15 seconds left on Friday, the Chiefs salvaged a poor snap while the Las Vegas Raiders were within 15 yards of a game-winning field goal, allowing Kansas City to win 19–17 and secure its tenth consecutive postseason appearance.
With less than two minutes remaining, Aidan O. Connell swiftly marched the Raiders (2-10) across midfield after they had gained control at their own 8-yard line. He then spiked the ball at the Kansas City 32 to stop the clock.
The Raiders decided to run a play instead of attempting a potentially game-winning field goal, as Daniel Carlson had already missed three of more than fifty. The ball bounced off the quarterback’s shoulder when Andre James snapped it when O Connell wasn’t expecting it to. When a flag on the play proved to be an illegal shift by the Raiders, the recovery remained, and Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton jumped on the ball.
Kansas City (11-1) had won 14 straight games decided by a single possession.
Earlier in the fourth quarter, O Connell drove the Raiders across midfield, giving them another opportunity. However, the Chiefs forced three consecutive incomplete passes, and Justin Reid and George Karlaftis batted down two to force fourth down. Carlson took the field, but his 2:21 58-yard attempt missed the uprights.
Matt Wright, a fill-in kicker, kicked four field goals, and Patrick Mahomes led Kansas City with 306 passing yards and a touchdown.
For the Raiders, who have lost eight of nine games to their fierce rivals in the AFC West, O Connell finished with 340 yards of throwing and two touchdowns. Brock Bowers had one of the touchdowns and ten catches for 140 yards.
In the first half of an NFL football game on Friday, November 29, 2024, in Kansas City, Missouri, quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) of the Kansas City Chiefs throws against the Las Vegas Raiders. (Charlie Riedel/AP Photo)
The same issues that have dogged the Chiefs for the majority of the season allowed the unfortunate Raiders to hang around: their offensive tackles failed to give Mahomes enough time to throw, their secondary continued to falter, and they committed an excessive number of three-on-one penalties.
When Mahomes found Justin Watson from six yards out late in the first half, he was actually under a lot of pressure. In addition to putting the Chiefs ahead 10-3, the pass allowed the two-time MVP to surpass Len Dawson with his franchise-high 328th touchdown pass.
After missing a month due to a broken thumb, O Connell, who was thrown back onto the field when Gardner Minshew was placed on injured reserve this week due to a fractured collarbone, had a difficult start. However, as the Chiefs kept making field goals, the second-year pro settled into a routine for the Raiders and finally threw two touchdown touchdowns to put Las Vegas ahead.
With 1:40 remaining in the third quarter, the first went to Bowers, who was already among the most productive rookies in NFL history. Then, on the first play of the fourth quarter, O Connell connected Tre Tucker with a 58-yard strike after the Chiefs had gone three-and-out.
With roughly ten minutes remaining, Wright’s fourth field goal gave the Chiefs a 19–17 advantage.
Stats and streaks
For Kansas City, Chris Jones recorded two sacks. He hadn’t had one in the seven games prior. This season, Las Vegas has fallen down by double digits in each game. Mahomes had made 113 consecutive starts without losing his job more than five times. Las Vegas and Carolina have done it in back-to-back weeks.
On Friday, Nov. 29, 2024, in the first half of an NFL football game in Kansas City, Missouri, defensive end K’Lavon Chaisson (44) sacks quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) of the Kansas City Chiefs. (Photo by Ed Zurga/AP)
Injuries
Raiders: Wide Receiver Due to a knee injury, DJ Turner exited during the second half.
Up Next
On December 8, the Raiders travel to Tampa Bay.
On the same night, the Chiefs host the Los Angeles Chargers.
https://apnews.com/hub/NFL is the AP NFL.
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