The Chiefs had as ugly of a first quarter as possible on offense, finishing the period with -18 yards.
But Kansas City has finally gotten something going, finishing its fourth possession with a 12-yard rushing touchdown by running back Isiah Pacheco. That gave the Chiefs a 7-3 lead over the Raiders with 7:34 left in the second quarter.
Las Vegas’ defense completely stuffed Kansas City’s offense on its first three possessions. The Chiefs went three-and-out on their first two drives, marking the first time that’s happened to an offense with quarterback Patrick Mahomes in a home game, according to the CBS broadcast.
Receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling even was flagged for lining up offside — something that should never happen after Kadarius Toney was flagged for it against the Bills a few weeks ago.
But before the fourth possession, Mahomes was shown yelling at the team’s offensive line on the sideline. CBS’ Tracy Wolfson said Mahomes was encouraging the OL to start dominating.
On the next drive, Mahomes converted a third-and-10 with a 15-yard pass to Rashee Rice. Then he hit Richie James with a 5-yard pass on third-and-3 to keep the chains moving.
That’s when Travis Kelce got involved, taking a tight end screen 24 yards down to Las Vegas’ 23.
A couple of plays later, Pacheco took a direct snap and ran to his left — faking a handoff to Mahomes in the process. With downfield blocks, Pacheco went into the end zone for a 12-yard score.
After Pacheco missed the last two games with a shoulder injury, that was the running back’s seventh rushing touchdown of the season.
The Raiders got on the board first with a 24-yard field goal by Daniel Carlson that capped a 15-play, 87-yard drive that took 8:44 off the clock in the first quarter.