Raiders-Chiefs rivalry hasn’t lost its luster despite mostly lopsided results

By Case Keefer (contact)

Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023 | 2 a.m.

Patrick Mahomes spoke of the importance of the Kansas City Chiefs immediately moving on after a 21-17 Monday Night Football loss to the Philadelphia Eagles because a big week was ahead.

Raiders’ week.

The Chiefs have dominated the Raiders going back decades at this point and would have every reason to downplay what was once a highly competitive rivalry years before this year’s players were born. But they’re not.

Beating Las Vegas still means something to Kansas City as it goes for a sixth straight victory in the AFC West series and looks to improve to 4-0 all-time in Allegiant Stadium at 1:25 p.m. Sunday.

“We’re playing a great team this week that plays hard and they’re going to make us earn it,” Mahomes said. “We want to go out there and show we can do it.”

That hasn’t been a problem for the modern iterations of the team. Mahomes is 9-1 against the Raiders, with the only defeat an eight-point loss in 2020. The Chiefs have won all five games since then by an average of 18 points.

Going back longer, Kansas City coach Andy Reid is 17-3 against the Raiders in his position.

All the numbers are ugly for Las Vegas, something team captain/superstar receiver Davante Adams won’t try to sugarcoat. Adams said this week that the Chiefs’ stronghold on the Raiders reminds him of the one his former team, the Green Bay Packers, hold over the divisional rival Chicago Bears.

Adams went 14-2 against the Bears in nine years with the Packers and says the team grew to take the success for granted. He doesn’t feel like the Chiefs treat the Raiders the same way.

“There is definitely something extra,” Adams said when asked about the Raiders/Chiefs rivalry. “For the way that they've historically won that battle, you would think that it wouldn't be as much. I think the way we would approach the Bears game when I was in Green Bay, it wasn’t like, ‘Oh my god, like we got to get up for the Bears.’ It was like a disrespectful approach almost...You feel like (the Chiefs) kind of respect the game and they take it to the grave, so it was good battles (last year) and two good teams going at it. We’ve just got to do our part to make sure we come out on top.”

Part of the reason Mahomes stressed refocusing on the fly after the Chiefs’ second loss in three games was because they’re on a short week with one less day to prepare for the Raiders off a Monday night game. But Raiders interim coach Antonio Pierce isn’t buying it.

He said a short week shouldn’t have much impact because the Chiefs, “know us like the back of their hand, and the same here.”

“Regardless of what happened (against the Eagles), we expect the best out of them,” Pierce said.

The 45-year-old Pierce grew up a Raiders’ fan in Los Angeles during a stretch as trying for the silver and black as the current struggles. The Raiders lost 19 of 21 games against the Chiefs from 1989-1999, so Pierce is intimately familiar with the pain the series has produced.

Hall of Fame running back Marcus Allen was in the spotlight for many of the 1990s games after he defected from the Raiders to sign with the Chiefs.

There’s lore like that for every era of the rivalry.

A couple incidents have already secured their place in series history since the Raiders moved to Las Vegas at the start of the 2020 season.

Most notably, the Raiders drew the Chiefs’ ire in 2020 after the latter accused the former of taking a “victory lap” in the team bus after a victory at Arrowhead Stadium. Then Raiders coach Jon Gruden denied the accusations — blaming them on a prickly bus driver — but the Chiefs were already motivated by it.

Kansas City smashed Las Vegas 48-9 the next year at Arrowhead after a pregame controversy that saw then Raiders edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue invite the team to huddle over the Chiefs’ midfield logo. Mahomes called the act “disrespectful” and credited it with energizing his team.

The Chiefs have played “The Wheels on the Bus” over the stadium sound system after their last two victories over the Raiders at home. In a season-ending romp over the Raiders at Allegiant last year, the Chiefs ran a “ring-around-the-rosie play” that went for a touchdown that was called back for a holding penalty.

“You can feel it pretty early on and it’s even been talked about in the offseason,” Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell said of the rivalry. “Obviously they're defending champs, so it's going to take high level of execution and we talked about passion and energy. We're going to have to play really good game because they're a great team."

The latest development in the rivalry, and likely defining matchup going forward, is a contentious on-field relationship between Mahomes and Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby. Mahomes took exception with some of Crosby’s tactics in last year’s Kansas City win at Arrowhead, later shown on Netflix documentary series Quarterback.

Crosby said Chiefs’ fans have come after and criticized him ever since. Mahomes has been more cordial, continually talking up Crosby but also noting he doesn’t like playing against him.

“I don’t know if he’s trying to push buttons, he just plays hard,” Mahomes said. “He plays hard every single snap and that’s why he’s one of the best players in the NFL.”

The Chiefs have been more careful than the Raiders not to add hostility to the rivalry, so perhaps Mahomes’ comments on Crosby are more de-escalation attempts. Or perhaps it’s another sign of how serious they take the matchup.

The Chiefs have never shown any signs of overlooking the Raiders despite results that could justify doing so.

“They’ve dominated the division since Patrick Mahomes has taken over,” Pierce said. “It's our job to go out there and give them the best fight.”

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or