The Kansas City Chiefs are a perfect 5-0 in Las Vegas (technically, Paradise, Nevada), including four wins over the Las Vegas Raiders and one Super Bowl win over the San Francisco 49ers this past February. Is there something special in the water, is it dumb luck, or are the Chiefs just a superior team when they play at Allegiant Stadium? I lean toward the latter.
Since the Raiders moved to Las Vegas in 2020, it’s felt like Arrowhead West for the Chiefs. Fans flock to take in the Vegas experience and cheer their team on along the way. Winning always enhances the experience, and Chiefs fans have been spoiled in this way for the past few years. The Chiefs have scored more than 30 points in every game they’ve played against the Raiders in Vegas. There’s something about playing the Raiders on the road and in that building that has been good to the Chiefs.
The trend continues with quarterback Patrick Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid having more wins as a coach-quarterback combo in Allegiant Stadium than any Raiders coach-QB duo. The Raiders can’t keep a steady signal-caller in their locker room, already jumping between Gardner Minshew and Aiden O’Connell at quarterback this season. Additionally, there isn’t a lot of winning happening within that organization in general.
Most wins for coach at Allegiant Stadium (playoffs included):
Josh McDaniels 6
Andy Reid 5
Antonio Pierce 5
Jon Gruden 4
Rich Bisaccia 3Barring a tie between #Raiders and Chiefs on Sunday, either Pierce or Reid will move into tie for first https://t.co/ZlUlMyu7ZA
— Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) October 25, 2024
The long history and heated rivalry between the Chiefs and Raiders has cooled off a bit with Kansas City’s recent domination, but a loss in last year’s home matchup on Christmas Day left a bad taste for returning Chiefs. Not only that, but there was a social media post that went viral during Raiders training camp when rookie Trey Taylor took a Mahomes-jersey-wearing Kermit the Frog puppet from a fan and impersonated Mahomes in the process. Not a good move. The situation was even addressed at Chiefs training camp.
“It’ll get handled when it gets handled,” Mahomes said.
Mahomes on the Raiders' Kermit puppet:
"It'll get handled when it gets handled."
KC @ LV 10/27
LV @ KC 11/29#ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/JzoUmHF236— Marleah Campbell (@MarleahKCTV5) July 26, 2024
Now is the time for business to get handled. The Chiefs get their shot to move to 7-0 on the season with a win over the Raiders on Sunday. This is the NFL, and nothing comes easy, but the Chiefs are a 10-point favorite on the road. They are expected to win, and to win big. That doesn’t mean there won’t be challenges along the way. We’ve seen it time and time again, a fumble or interception can make things a lot harder than they need to be for this Chiefs squad. The Raiders have had their fair share of injuries, but the Chiefs have as well. The Raiders keep losing while the Chiefs keep winning.
The latest injuries for the Chiefs came at an already-decimated position. Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster was ruled out with a hamstring injury and Skyy Moore was placed on IR with “a core muscle injury.” As those injuries followed a season-ending knee injury for Rashee Rice and a season-threatening surgery for Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, the Chiefs made a move.
DeAndre Hopkins will make his Chiefs debut surrounded by Mecole Hardman, Justin Watson, and rookie Xavier Worthy. That’s it, everyone else is on the shelf. Mahomes will continue to work his magic and the Chiefs will likely continue to rely on their running game, as Kareem Hunt has been a tank since taking over as the Chiefs’ lead running back in Week 4. The defense continues to play at a high level and is one of the top units in the NFL. The Raiders’ offense doesn’t strike fear into anyone, but the defense will need to play with a fire and intensity so there is no letdown like last year on Christmas, the last time the Chiefs experienced a loss.
There’s no reason the Chiefs shouldn’t go on the road and pick up another win against the Raiders. If they can play mistake-free football, despite the injuries on offense, the Chiefs could put up another 30-point game in a win. It’s time for the team to make it another business trip to Vegas and for the Chiefs to move to 6-0 all-time at Allegiant Stadium and 7-0 on the season as the quest continues for the first three-peat in NFL history.
