KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Gadget plays went awry, interceptions were returned for touchdowns, punts were shanked, field goals were missed and it all added up to a very Grinch-worthy Christmas Day performance as far as the home fans at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium were concerned.
With a chance to clinch the AFC West title and eliminate the rival Las Vegas Raiders from playoff contention, the Chiefs coughed up two defensive touchdowns in a 7-second span and never got their offense untracked in a 20-14 loss.
Kansas City’s defense allowed only six points, including a field goal after Tommy Townsend shanked a 22-yard punt to set the Raiders up at the Chiefs’ 42-yard line, but the offense wasn’t able to overcome its two-play meltdown with around 5 minutes remaining in the first half.
Kansas City had back-to-back one-play lumps of coal — the first, a fumble return for a touchdown, and the second, an interception return for a touchdown by Las Vegas.
“They played better than we did today, in particular our offense,” coach Andy Reid said. “That’s my responsibility to put the guys in position to make plays and that didn’t happen the way that I wanted to. … We were just off a tick.”
That’s not to say the Chiefs didn’t have their chances.
Early in the fourth quarter, Las Vegas safety Tre’Von Moehring baited Patrick Mahomes into another interception on a scramble-drill, pump-fake lob pass intended for Noah Gray.
It was overturned on review, giving the Chiefs new life.
But after reaching the red zone, Kansas City’s offense bogged down after tight-end screens to Travis Kelce, to the right then the left, netted only two yards.
Two incompletions later, the Chiefs turned the ball over on downs, and fans began streaming for the exits with 9:47 remaining to make it to grandma’s house for Christmas dinner.
Roughly seven minutes later, Mahomes provided a lifeline with a 7-yard touchdown to Justin Watson, which pulled Kansas City within 20-14, but Zamir White’s 43-yard run off the right edge allowed Las Vegas to run out the clock.
Quarterback Aidan O’Connell finished a dismal 9 of 21 for 62 yards and the Raiders only managed 48 net passing yards when accounting for sacks, but White finished with 22 carries for 145 yards in Josh Jacobs’ absence — just enough for Las Vegas to hang on.
The loss eliminates any chance for Kansas City to earn the No. 1 seed in the AFC, regardless of what Baltimore and Miami do the rest of the way.
“Those two mistakes put us in a hole and we weren’t able to climb out of it,” said Mahomes, who finished 27 of 44 for 235 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He also led the Chiefs with 53 yards rushing on 10 carries.
TRICK PLAYS GIVETH: Kansas City finally broke through midway through the second quarter.
Mahomes split out wide to the left then reversed across the formation in a bubble motion.
Running back Isiah Pacheco, who had gone in motion with a completely empty backfield before doubling back to take the snap, ran left from the single-back Wildcat and faked a pitch to Mahomes before motoring around the left end.
Left tackle Wanya Morris sprinted ahead of Pacheco and cleared a path, while wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling locked up his defender to ensure a free alley to the end zone.
With the 12-yard touchdown run, Pacheco put the Chiefs in front 7-3 after Harrison Butker’s extra point.
TRICK PLAYS TAKETH AWAY: To open the next drive, Kansas City tried to get tricky again — and it blew up spectacularly in the Chiefs’ face.
Before the snap, Mahomes shifted to tailback and Pacheco moved behind center again in the pistol.
After taking the snap, he tried to jam the ball in Mahomes’ belly, but it ended up on the ground instead.
“I was supposed to take the handoff and we just didn’t have a good exchange,” Mahomes said. “... We had worked on it all week, but they got some penetration with their defensive line and we didn’t make it happen. Those are things you can’t let happen. You secure the handoff first and let the rest of the play develop.”
Defensive tackle Bilal Nichols, who helped create the penetration that wrecked the play, scooped up the fumble and rumbled 8 yards for the go-ahead defensive score.
Las Vegas never trailed again.
BACK-TO-BACK OFFENSIVE BLUNDERS: Las Vegas did Kansas City the courtesy of botching the extra point, leaving the lead at 9-7 — but only momentarily.
On the first snap of the Chiefs’ next drive, Mahomes tried to hit Justin Watson with an out route on the Raiders’ sideline.
Cornerback Jack Jones undercut Watson and dashed 33 yards for a pick-six, giving Las Vegas a pair of defensive touchdowns 7 seconds apart.
“He made a good play,” Mahomes said. “He was off coverage, read it — probably by the alignment or something like that — and just made a good play. You just can’t make that throw. I tried to be on time with it, but he obviously made a good play on it.”
Jones is the Raiders player who made headlines when he downplayed the need to stop the Chiefs’ receivers this week: “We’re not worried about them. It’s Patrick Mahomes we’ve got to stop. You stop the magician, then the act is over.”
Jack Jones belives that stopping Patrick Mahomes will be the number one priority for the #Raiders defense.
— Levi Edwards (@theleviedwards) December 21, 2023
“If we stop the magician, then the act is over.” pic.twitter.com/Mqey4bjlCY
To make up for the point-after flub, Las Vegas went for two and converted via Brandon Bolden run for a 17-7 lead.
"I thought the defense played a good game, but the two mistakes that gave them two touchdowns there when we were backed up in their red zone there — you just can’t do that," Mahomes said.
TRICK PLAYS GIVETH AGAIN (KIND OF): Down by 10 points and needing to seize the momentum, the Chiefs turned to special-teams trickeration.
Facing fourth-and-5 at their own 48, Tommy Townsend took the long snap, found the seams and fired a dart to Watson on an 11-yard out route for a first down.
Townsend has thrown one pass in each of his four NFL seasons. He’s now 3 for 4 for 40 yards with three first downs as a surprise QB.
He had a 13-yard completion against the New York Jets as a rookie in 2020 and completed a 16-yard throw against the Raiders in 2021.
Townsend’s lone incompletion came at Indianapolis last season during his first All-Pro and Pro Bowl campaign.
The trick play was poised to pay off in a big way when Butker lined up for a 36-yard field goal try to close the half, but he hooked it wide left.
After making his first 23 field goals this season, Butker pushed his first try last week at New England wide right before connecting on his last two field-goal attempts.
He has now missed kicks in back-to-back weeks.
SLOOOOOOOW START: Kansas City failed to gain a first down and tallied minus-18 yards on eight plays in the first quarter.
Las Vegas only led 3-0 after settling for a 24-yard Daniel Carlson field goal late in the first quarter after marching 87 yards on 15 plays.
But the Chiefs’ offense was brutal.
Mahomes was 2 for 3 for minus-5 yards and was sacked twice for a loss of 18 yards in the first quarter, giving Kansas City minus-23 net passing yards in the opening period.
He also had two carries for 5 yards, including a 2-yard loss on the offense’s second snap.
Isiah Pacheco, who returned from a two-game absence with a shoulder injury, had zero yards on his only first-quarter carry.
He caught both of Mahomes' completions for minus-5 yards. The only other first-quarter pass was a Travis Kelce drop.
The Chiefs finally got a first down via penalty early in the second quarter.
Shortly after, Mahomes hit wide receiver Rashee Rice for an 11-yard completion on third down, the first completion to anyone other than Pacheco.
Rice was two yards shy of a first down thanks to a 3-yard loss by Pacheco earlier in the drive, so Kansas City had to punt anyway.
The Chiefs finished the first half with 121 total yards, which wasn’t great, but it was still better than the Raiders, who managed only 95 yards on 26 plays before the break.
The two defensive scores masked the fact that Las Vegas managed only eight yards on 11 plays outside of its field-goal drive.
UNDER PRESSURE: Mahomes completed only 61.3% of his throws and the Chiefs tumbled to 1-6 when his completion percentage is below 66%.
Kansas City is 8-0 when it’s above 66%, but credit Las Vegas’ pass rush for making Mahomes’ life tough.
The Raiders finished with four sacks — including three by defensive end Malcolm Koonce, who now has five sacks in the last two games — and 10 hits on Mahomes.
Koonce, who had two sacks through his first 12 games, also had two sacks in last week’s 63-21 rout of the Los Angeles Chargers.
He hit Mahomes four times, while fellow defensive end Maxx Crosby had two QB hits and defensive tackle Adam Butler added a sack.
“They did a good job with all their rush stuff,” Reid said. “It started early. Even against the runs, they had penetration. Again, we’ve got stuff in our offense that I can give the guys to make sure that doesn’t take place.”
JUSTYN ROSS RETURNS: Training-camp darling Justyn Ross had three catches for 34 yards during the Chiefs’ first seven games before his Oct. 23 arrest for domestic violence in Shawnee.
Ross, who missed last season with a foot injury after signing as an undrafted free agent from Clemson, landed on the Commissioner’s Exempt List after being charged with felony criminal damage and misdemeanor domestic battery.
He reached a diversion agreement with Johnson County prosecutors last month and was allowed to return after serving a six-game suspension.
Kansas City didn’t activate Ross last week, but he took Skyy Moore’s place when the second-year receiver landed on injured reserve.
During his return to action, Ross finished with one 2-yard catch in limited snaps.
WAS TAYLOR SWIFT AT THE GAME?: Yes, she was indeed — and the Chiefs dropped to 5-3 with Taylor Swift on hand for a game.
After a struggle-filled first half, one of the loudest ovations from the Arrowhead crowd came when she was shown on the video board at halftime as the VIP Fan of the Game.
Swift smiled, waved and rang a handbell alongside Santa Claus, who also was ringing a bell, giving Chiefs Kingdom a momentary reason for cheer despite the double-digit halftime deficit.
She’s been in a suite at Arrowhead for games against Chicago (Sept. 24), Denver (Oct. 12), the Los Angeles Chargers (Oct. 22), Buffalo (Dec. 10) and now Las Vegas (Dec. 25).
Swift, who is the “Time” magazine Person of the Year and is famously dating Kelce, also showed up for road games at the New York Jets, Green Bay and New England.
INJURY UPDATE: Returning from a two-game absence after shoulder surgery, Pacheco’s helmet popped off on a third-quarter run and he took a knee to the head from center Creed Humphrey as he was slung to the ground on the tackle.
Starting right guard Trey Smith (left calf) also left the game in the fourth quarter and did not return, but he said he was "all good" in the locker room after the game.
Pacheco was diagnosed with a concussion and didn’t return, finishing with 11 carries for 26 yards and four catches for zero yards. He ran for Kansas City’s only touchdown.
Safety Mike Edwards, who has been the starter since Bryan Cook suffered an ankle injury in early December at Green Bay, left the game on the first defensive snap with a knee injury.
Edwards returned in the second half.
UP NEXT: The Chiefs will try again to clinch an eighth straight AFC West title in their home finale next Sunday against Cincinnati, who can’t afford another slip-up or its playoff hopes are doomed.
The New Year’s Eve kickoff is slated for 3:25 p.m., but there will be no Joe Burrow after he tore a ligament in his wrist and had season-ending surgery.
Jake Browning has played admirably in Burrow’s absence, but the Bengals also have been navigating games with a banged-up Ja’Marr Chase.
The game marks the return of Cincy’s new left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., who played the previous two seasons for the Chiefs.
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