By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
Travis Kelce seemingly broke out of a season long slump and recorded his best game of the season, scoring his first touchdown, as the Kansas City Chiefs remained unbeaten topping the Las Vegas Raiders 27-20 in an AFC West rivalry matchup at Allegiant Stadium.
The Chiefs opened the game putting together a nine play drive, that almost ended with Kansas City facing a 3rd and 7, but Patrick Mahomes connected with new weapon Deandre Hopkins for a first down, and the Chiefs drove the remainder of the field ending with Kareem Hunt scoring his fourth touchdown of the season, giving the Chiefs an early lead.
On the very next drive though, the Raiders offense shredded the Chiefs defense putting together a 12 play drive culminating with a seven yard touchdown pass from Gardner Minshew, who got the start in place of the injured Aidan O'Connell, to Jakobi Meyers late in the first quarter. Opening the second quarter, Las Vegas took the lead with a 54 yard field goal by Daniel Carlson after forcing Kansas City to punt.
The Chiefs took the lead back following the field goal with a 13 play drive, consisting of runs by Hunt and completed passes from Mahomes to the likes of Kelce, Xavier Worthy, and Noah Gray, until Mahomes found a wide open Kelce for a five yard touchdown pass, giving the veteran tight end his first score of the season.
After forcing a Raiders punt, Kansas City extended their lead with a nine play drive, Harrison Butker converting a 42 yard field goal with four seconds left. Minshew took a knee to end the first half, sending the Chiefs to the locker room with a 17-10 lead at the halftime break.
Carlson drew the Raiders closer with the lone points of the third quarter, a 32 yard field goal, before the Chiefs eventually answered with a field goal of their own in the fourth quarter, Butker knocking through a 24 yard field goal to push the lead back to a touchdown.
Kansas City got the ball back on the ensuing drive with Mike Pennell forcing Minshew to fumble, Dru Tranquill recovering the ball, before the Chiefs put together an eight play drive with a short field, Mahomes finding Worthy for a nine yard touchdown pass.
The final touchdown was to much to overcome for the Raiders, answering with a score of their own as Minshew ended a 13 play drive with an 11 yard touchdown strike to DJ Turner. But Las Vegas was unable to recover the onside kick, and Mahomes knelt out the remaining clock for the victory.
Mahomes was 27 of 38 passing for 262 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Hunt rushed 21 times for 59 yards and a score, while Kelce had 10 catches for 90 yards and a touchdown.
The Chiefs will be back in Kansas City for their next two matchups, starting with a Monday night affair with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 9. Kickoff in Monday Night Football will be at 7:15pm. Pregame will air at 6pm on Q Country 92.7, the game will be televised on ESPN.