KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — 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 offense, 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 completing a pass after the first quarter, yet also never making 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 offense. 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.
STATS AND STREAKS
The Raiders have five defensive TDs this season, their most since 2005. … The first quarter was the best by the Raiders defense since holding the Chargers to minus-21 yards on Dec. 1, 1991. … Rashee Rice had six catches to reach 74 for the season, breaking the Chiefs rookie record of 70 set by Dwayne Bowe in 2007. … Malcolm Koonce had three sacks for the Raiders.
INJURIES
Chiefs: Pacheco went into the concussion protocol in the third quarter when his helmet popped off and he was kicked in the head. … RG Trey Smith hurt his leg in the fourth quarter.
EDMONTON – The Edmonton Oilers signed defenceman Travis Dermott to a professional tryout on Friday.
Dermott, a 27-year-old from Newmarket, Ont., produced two goals, five assists and 26 penalty minutes in 50 games with the Arizona Coyotes last season.
The six-foot, 202-pound blueliner has also played for the Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Toronto drafted him in the second round, 34th overall, of the 2015 NHL draft.
Over seven NHL seasons, Dermott has 16 goals and 46 assists in 329 games while averaging 16:03 in ice time.
Before the NHL, Dermott played two seasons with Oilers captain Connor McDavid for the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters. The team was coached by current Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — Maria Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam singles champion, led the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan vote her first year on the ballot — an important part to possible selection to the hall’s next class.
The organization released the voting results on Friday. American doubles team Bob and Mike Bryan finished second with Canada’s Daniel Nestor third.
The Hall of Fame said tens of thousands of fans from 120 countries cast ballots. Fan voting is one of two steps in the hall’s selection process. The second is an official group of journalists, historians, and Hall of Famers from the sport who vote on the ballot for the hall’s class of 2025.
“I am incredibly grateful to the fans all around the world who supported me during the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan votes,” Sharapova said in a statement. “It is a tremendous honor to be considered for the Hall of Fame, and having the fans’ support makes it all the more special.”
Sharapova became the first Russian woman to reach No. 1 in the world. She won Wimbledon in 2004, the U.S. Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008. She also won the French Open twice, in 2012 and 2014.
Sharapova was also part of Russia’s championship Fed Cup team in 2008 and won a silver medal at the London Olympics in 2012.
To make the hall, candidates must receive 75% or higher on combined results of the official voting group and additional percentage from the fan vote. Sharapova will have an additional three percentage points from winning the fan vote.
The Bryans, who won 16 Grand Slam doubles titles, will have two additional percentage points and Nestor, who won eight Grand Slam doubles titles, will get one extra percentage point.
The hall’s next class will be announced late next month.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The driver charged with killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew as they bicycled on a rural road had a blood-alcohol level of .087, above the .08 legal limit in New Jersey, a prosecutor said Friday.
Gaudreau, 31, and brother Matthew, 29, were killed in Carneys Point, New Jersey, on Aug. 29, the evening before they were set to serve as groomsmen at their sister Katie’s wedding.
The driver, 43-year-old Sean M. Higgins of nearby Woodstown, New Jersey, is charged with two counts of death by auto, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle. At a virtual court hearing Friday, a judge ordered that he be held for trial after prosecutors described a history of alleged road rage and aggressive driving.
“’You were probably driving like a nut like I always tell you you do. And you don’t listen to me, instead you just yell at me,’” his wife told Higgins when he called her from jail after his arrest, according to First Assistant Prosecutor Jonathan Flynn of Salem County.
The defense described Higgins as a married father and law-abiding citizen before the crash.
“He’s an empathetic individual and he’s a loving father of two daughters,” said defense lawyer Matthew Portella. “He’s a good person and he made a horrible decision that night.”
Higgins told police he had five or six beers that day and admitted to consuming alcohol while driving, according to the criminal complaint. He also failed a field sobriety test, the complaint said. A prosecutor on Friday said he had been drinking at home after finishing a work call at about 3 p.m., and having an upsetting conversation with his mother about a family matter.
He then had a two-hour phone call with a friend while he drove around in his Jeep with an open container, Flynn said. He had been driving aggressively behind a sedan going just above the 50 mph speed limit, sometimes tailgating, the female driver told police.
When she and the vehicle ahead of her slowed down and veered left to go around the cyclists, Higgins sped up and veered right, striking the Gaudreas, the two other drivers told police.
“He indicated he didn’t even see them,” said Superior Court Judge Michael J. Silvanio, who said Higgins’ admitted “impatience” caused two deaths.
Higgins faces up to 20 years, a sentence that the judge said made him a flight risk.
Higgins has a master’s degree, works in finance for an addiction treatment company, and served in combat in Iraq, his lawyers said. However, his wife said he had been drinking regularly since working from home, Flynn said.
Johnny Gaudreau, known as “Johnny Hockey,” played 10 full seasons in the league and was set to enter his third with the Columbus Blue Jackets after signing a seven-year, $68 million deal in 2022. He played his first eight seasons with the Calgary Flames, a tenure that included becoming one of the sport’s top players and a fan favorite across North America.
Widows Meredith and Madeline Gaudreau described their husbands as attached at the hip throughout their lives. Both women are expecting, and both gave moving eulogies at the double funeral on Monday.
