The Kansas City Chiefs faced the Oakland Raiders on September 15 in Week 2 of the 2019 NFL season. Here are highlights from the game.
The Raiders entered their game against Kansas City on a high note after defeating the Denver Broncos in Week 1. The Chiefs were also riding in on a win in Week 1 over the Jacksonville Jaguars. This classic AFC West rivalry appeared to be a guaranteed highlight game not only because of each team’s offensive and defensive weapons but also because it will be the last time they face each other in Oakland (unless they meet in a playoff game), as the Raiders are set to move to Las Vegas.
The Raiders started by utilizing Derek Carr‘s ability to throw, taking the ball down the field and coming away with three points thanks to a field goal by Daniel Carlson. After forcing the Chiefs to punt, they regained possession and ended up going down the field as Carr connected with Tyrell Williams for the touchdown to make it 10-0 over the Chiefs. The first quarter went on with each team having possession of the ball but nothing to show for it and ended with the Chiefs having possession.
At the start of the second quarter, Patrick Mahomes completed a deep pass to Demarcus Robinson for 44 yards and a touchdown to make it 10-7. After a few short plays, the Raiders punted the ball back to the Chiefs who apparently decided to show up for the game by taking control of the ball and then taking time off the clock. Mahomes lobbed another deep pass, this time to Mecole Hardman for 42 yards and a touchdown to make it 14-10 with the Chiefs now in the lead. After another basic failed drive by the Raiders, the Chiefs took the ball down the field again. This time, Mahomes connected with Travis Kelce for 27 yards and a touchdown to make the score 21-10.
As good as the Raiders’ offense has the potential to be, they again went three-and-out, giving the Chiefs another chance to score before the end of the first half. The Chiefs didn’t disappoint as Mahomes connected with Demarcus Robinson again for 39 yards and another touchdown to make it 28-10.
In the third and fourth quarters, it appeared that both teams were attempting to control things with their defenses. Either that or both offenses stopped trying to score. Either way, some might think the second half of the game was a snoozefest and not so much the rivalry which was promised between the two teams with something to prove. While Carr was throwing short passes, Mahomes was still lobbing balls down the field for large yardage gains but was ultimately not able to come up with anything to show for it.
Penalties on both sides may have also played a role in stopping the advances of both teams as they struggled in the second half. However, it doesn’t negate the inability of both teams to convert when they had possession. If either team still has dreams of AFC dominance and the possibility of being Super Bowl-bound, they need to take a long, hard look at the second half to see what went wrong and fix the problems plaguing them.
In the end, Mahomes was 30 of 44 for 443 yards with zero interceptions and four touchdowns while Carr was 23 of 38 for 198 yards, two interceptions, and one touchdown. Both quarterbacks achieved something in this game against each other, with Mahomes racking up 278 yards passing in the second quarter (which is the most for a player in any quarter since Drew Brees had 294 in the fourth quarter of a game in 2008) and Carr became the Raiders’ all-time passing leader (breaking the mark of 19,078 yards set by Ken Stabler).
Both teams are looking to move forward in the season starting with Week 3, with the Chiefs taking on the Baltimore Ravens for their first home game of the 2019 season and the Raiders squaring off against the Minnesota Vikings for their first away game of the season.
