Four Takeaways from the Kansas City Chiefs’ 27-20 Win Over the Las Vegas Raiders

For the first time since Super Bowl LVIII, the Kansas City Chiefs took the field at Allegiant Stadium looking for a win. That’s precisely what they got in Week 8, taking down a bitter rival in the process.

Despite a slow start from Steve Spagnuolo’s defense, Kansas City once again buckled down in time to neutralize their opponent. The Las Vegas Raiders couldn’t quite keep pace with the back-to-back world champions, who took a seven-point lead into the halftime break. Even with an odd third quarter taking place, Andy Reid’s crew ultimately secured a 27-20 victory. The Chiefs are up to 7-0 on the season, maintaining their standing as the NFL’s last undefeated team.  With that in mind, here are four takeaways from Sunday’s game.

The DeAndre Hopkins experiment is off to a solid start

Many expected the Chiefs to move for a wide receiver on the trade market at some point, but it still felt like a shock when they acquired DeAndre Hopkins a handful of days ago. Although the three-time All-Pro is no longer in his prime, the general consensus was that he’d greatly help an offense that desperately needed it. Logging 10 snaps in the first half and filtering in over the final two frames, the 32-year-old made a decent impact in his debut.

Hopkins finished with two catches for 29 yards, but his play went beyond the box score. On tight end Travis Kelce’s first half touchdown, Hopkins helped open things up for him. To start the second half, Patrick Mahomes threw a ball deeper down the field to Xavier Worthy on third down but Hopkins ran a beautiful route to get open. The volume numbers – targets, receptions and snaps – will come. The quality of reps Hopkins put up in his first game as a Chief was high.

Patrick Mahomes is back to playing like Patrick Mahomes

It’s been a very weird season for Mahomes, who had an awkward statistical outlook in 2023-24 as well. This year’s production, through seven games, is markedly worse. Coming into Sunday, the two-time NFL MVP had thrown for just six touchdowns compared to eight interceptions. While nothing he did against Las Vegas will alter that in a major way, he put up arguably his best performance since the Chiefs’ season opener.

Mahomes looked confident and mostly comfortable, establishing a firmer presence in the pocket and extending as needed. His legs proved to be a weapon on multiple plays, whether it be late-rep pitches to receivers or runs like his third-and-12 scramble in the fourth quarter. Mahomes’s raw numbers (27 completions for 262 yards, two touchdowns and an interception) are nothing crazy, sure. It doesn’t take much to see how he improved his level of play, though.

While imperfect, the Chiefs’ defense showed up when needed on Sunday

With the offense not putting up gaudy numbers for most of the season and struggling in the red zone for weeks on end, Spagnuolo’s defense is being leaned on a lot. For the most part, that side of the ball has answered the call. Week 8 was yet another example of that, as Kansas City overcame Gardner Minshew shredding them in the first quarter and slammed the door shut in ensuing possessions.

Perhaps the NFL’s most dominant rushing defense met football’s worst rushing offense. The outcome was predictable. Between Minshew, Alexander Mattison, Zamir White and others, the Raiders mustered just 33 yards on 24 carries. Against the pass, George Karlaftis got a sack to force a field goal in the third quarter and helped alongside Tershawn Wharton for another one that ended in a turnover on downs. Mike Pennel also forced a fumble. The Raiders may have gotten going early, but the Chiefs got the last laugh.

Revenge is a dish best served in Vegas

Over the weekend, my colleague Mark Van Sickle here at Kansas City Chiefs On SI dove into the Chiefs’ success in Las Vegas (OK, Paradise) since the Raiders moved. Including the aforementioned Super Bowl earlier this calendar year, Reid and Co. entered Week 8 a perfect 5-0 at Allegiant Stadium. With a win on Sunday, Reid tied Josh McDaniels for the most wins in that building with six. Not only did Kansas City continue to add to the “Arrowhead West” narrative, but Mahomes appeared to handle what he hinted at back in July.