KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The smell of the victory cigars wafted down the tunnel beneath Arrowhead Stadium, straight from the Las Vegas Raiders in the celebratory visiting locker room to the despondent home locker room of the Kansas City Chiefs.
For one, the scent of success. For the other, the stench of a sloppy mess.
Taking advantage of two defensive touchdowns for the second straight week, and riding an aggressive mindset that shut down Patrick Mahomes and the rest of the Kansas City offence, the Raiders held off the Chiefs 20-14 on Monday to not only deny their longtime AFC West rival another division crown but keep their postseason hopes alive.
“That was one of our mantras,” Raiders interim coach Antonio Pierce said afterward, “by any means necessary.”
That meant big defensive tackle Bilal Nichols returning a fumble 8 yards for a touchdown, and Jack Jones taking an interception 33 yards for another score 7 seconds later. It meant Aidan O’Connell never completed a pass after the first quarter, yet also never made the same mistakes that Mahomes made for Kansas City on a soggy Christmas Day.
The Raiders (7-8) became the first NFL team since 2000 to win without completing a pass after the first quarter, and only the fifth team to beat the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium without scoring an offensive touchdown.
“Obviously this was a huge game. It’s a rivalry game,” O’Connell said. “We play them twice a year, every year, so to come into Arrowhead Stadium and win a game like this, it’s pretty awesome. It’s pretty special for our guys.”
Kansas City (9-6) hardly helped its cause: Along with allowing the two defensive TDs, Harrison Butker missed a chip-shot field goal, penalties and dropped passes were again a problem, and twice they failed to convert on fourth down in the second half.
“They played a better game than we did today,” said Chiefs coach Andy Reid, whose team has lost three of four. “On offense, we struggled. That’s my responsibility to make sure we put the guys in the right position to make plays, and that didn’t happen the way we wanted it to. I take full responsibility for the way we played offensively there.”
The Chiefs still had a chance in the closing minutes Monday to clinch their eighth straight AFC West title and keep their hopes alive for the No. 1 seed.
But after Mahomes hit Justin Watson for a touchdown with 2:42 to go, the Raiders’ Zamir White broke loose for a 43-yard gain, picking up a first down that allowed them to run out the clock.
Mahomes finished 27 of 44 for 235 yards and the interception; he nearly threw a second but it was overturned upon review.
The Raiders, playing without injured running back Josh Jacobs, won despite a dismal day from their offence. White ran for 145 yards, but much of that came on the final possession. O’Connell was just 9 of 21 for 62 yards, the Raiders were 0 for 3 in the red zone and 3 for 12 on third down, and they had seven fewer first downs than Kansas City.
All that mattered was the score, though.
“That’s why it’s a team sport,” O’Connell said. “It was a team win.”
Reid had spent the past few weeks lamenting the mental mistakes that kept costing the defending Super Bowl champs, and they made more of them Monday than they had in any game this season.
They went three-and-out on consecutive series to start a game for only the second time with Mahomes at quarterback. They were held to minus-18 yards in the first quarter, the second-worst total for the club since at least 1991. And the reigning league MVP was sacked twice in those two series, while more offensive penalties only made matters worse.
The Chiefs took the lead early when Isiah Pacheco took a direct snap 12 yards for a touchdown, and Las Vegas gave the ball right back after a punt. But when Pacheco again took a direct snap and tried to hand to Mahomes, they bobbled the exchange and the 315-pound Nichols was there to scoop it up and run for the touchdown.
On the next offensive play for Kansas City, Mahomes was picked off by Jones, whose 33-yard return gave Las Vegas its fourth defensive TD in the past two weeks, along with a 17-7 lead over its longtime divisional nemesis.
Then, Jones appeared to play the Grinch when he faked giving the ball to a kid wearing Chiefs clothes in the crowd.
The defensive scores made it 17-7, and it was still that way when Butker missed his field goal before halftime. The Raiders added one in the third quarter, and that was all the scoring they needed to end a six-game skid against Kansas City.
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings made another investment this week in a young standout, signing Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million.
The Red Wings announced the move with the 23-year-old German defenseman on Thursday, three days after keeping 22-year-old forward Lucas Raymond with a $64.6 million, eight-year deal.
Detroit drafted Seider with the No. 6 pick overall eight years ago and he has proven to be a great pick. He has 134 career points, the most by a defenseman drafted in 2019.
He was the NHL’s only player to have at least 200 hits and block 200-plus shots last season, when he scored a career-high nine goals and had 42 points for the second straight year.
Seider won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2022 after he had a career-high 50 points.
Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is banking on Seider, whose contract will count $8.55 million annually against the cap, and Raymond to turn a rebuilding team into a winner.
Detroit has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.
The Red Wings, who won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008, have been reeling since their run of 25 straight postseasons ended in 2016.
Detroit was 41-32-9 last season and finished with a winning record for the first time since its last playoff appearance.
Yzerman re-signed Patrick Kane last summer and signed some free agents, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million after he helped the Florida Panthers hoist the Cup.
PENTICTON, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he’s been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season’s playoffs.
The 28-year-old all star says the rehabilitation process has been frustrating, but he has made good progress in recent weeks and is confident he’ll be able to return to playing.
He says he and his medical team have spent the last few months talking to specialists around the world, and have not found a single other hockey player who has dealt with the same injury.
Demko missed several weeks of the last season with a knee ailment and played just one game in Vancouver’s playoff run last spring before going down with the current injury.
He was not on the ice with his teammates as the Canucks started training camp in Penticton, B.C., on Thursday, but skated on his own before the sessions began.
Demko posted a 35-14-2 record with a .918 percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts for Vancouver last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — No. 1 Texas will start Arch Manning at quarterback Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe while regular starter Quinn Ewers continues to recover from a strained muscle in his abdomen, coach Steve Sarkisian said Thursday.
It will be the first career start for Manning, a second year freshman. He relieved Ewers in the second quarter last week against UTSA, and passed for four touchdowns and ran for another in a 56-7 Texas victory.
Manning is the son of Cooper Manning, the grandson of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning, and the nephew of Super Bowl-winning QBs Peyton and Eli Manning.
Ewers missed several games over the previous two seasons with shoulder and sternum injuries.
The Longhorns are No. 1 for the first time since 2008 and Saturday’s matchup with the Warhawks is Texas’ last game before the program starts its first SEC schedule against Mississippi State on Sept. 28.
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