Arrowhead Pride
The Chiefs haven’t forgotten about Christmas Day of last year.
The last time the Chiefs played the Las Vegas Raiders around the holidays was also the last time the Chiefs lost a football game in 2023. Kansas City lost at home 14-20 on Christmas Day — a winning streak that continued until two weeks ago when Kansas City finally fell to the Buffalo Bills on the road.
Kansas City got off to a slow start last Christmas, going three-and-out on their first drive. In those first three plays, quarterback Patrick Mahomes was tackled for a 2-yard loss by Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby and sacked by defensive tackle Malcolm Koonce. In total, they lost 11 yards on their first possession.
But it was Las Vegas cornerback Jack Jones who had the game-defining moment when he intercepted Mahomes for a pick-six with just under five minutes left in the first half. Kansas City went into the locker room down 10 points at the break, a margin they could not overcome.
Fast forward to this year, and it’s hard not to see the similarities in this week's matchup against the Raiders on Black Friday. Kansas City is playing far from its best football. just three days ago the Chiefs took the hapless Carolina Panthers down the wire, winning on a last-second field goal.
If Kansas City is to prevent a repeat of last year and turn things around before hitting rock bottom, scoring a decisive victory this week is a must.
The first step to achieving this goal is stopping edge rusher Maxx Crosby from running wild and making the Chiefs' offensive tackles his personal whipping boy. When he was asked about Crosby on Tuesday, Mahomes said that Crosby gives maximum effort on every down, and it sets the tone for his entire team.
“He’s going to give you everything he’s got. He’s obviously physically gifted. He can make all the different pass-rush moves. The way he plays, I think, inspires his team to play hard, and that’s what you need to be great in this league.”
Aiden O’Connell got the nod against the Chiefs last Christmas and struggled mightily, completing just nine out of 21 pass attempts for 63 yards and no touchdowns. With Raiders starting quarterback Gardner Minshew suffering a broken collar bone in last week's loss to the Denver Broncos, It is now known that O’Connell will start again this week.
When he was asked how the team was preparing for the Raiders uncertainty at quarterback, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said he has spoken with the defense about both quarterbacks.
“We’ll prepare for both, and we’ll see what happens,” said Spagnuolo. “We have faced O’Connell before, and I thought he did a nice job against us a number of times. And then we know that Ridder is an athletic guy — Brian Cook was a teammate of his. So, a little bit of insight there. But we’ll...
