The Christmas Day encounter with the Las Vegas Raiders could not have started much worse for the Chiefs. Three possessions produced three punts and minus-10 yards of total offense.
But the Chiefs trailed only 3-0 before they put together a touchdown drive that ended with a cool trick play. WIth quarterback Patrick Mahomes split wide, running back Isiah Pacheco went in motion but circled back to take the snap. He faked an end-around pitch to Mahomes and scored behind big blocks from receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling and offensive lineman Wanya Morris.
A Raiders punt followed. In this moment, the game had flipped. Things were going the Chiefs’ way, and an eighth straight AFC West title, a bonus for the victory, was visible on the horizon.
Instead, a sequence of calamity unseen in the Mahomes era unfolded. And it would pave the way to a stunning 20-14 Raiders victory that not only denied the Chiefs a crown but kept alive the playoff hopes of the Raiders and Denver Broncos.
The next two snaps went like this: fumbled handoff from Pacheco to Mahomes that became a scoop and score for Bilal Nichols, followed by a pick-six by Jack Jones. The first blow was delivered with 4:55 left in the second quarter; the second landed at 4:48.
Catastrophe in seven seconds, with Mahomes, the two-time MVP, in the middle of both. A 7-3 lead became a 17-7 deficit from which the Chiefs could not recover.
“I’ve got to be better, not making those mistakes,” Mahomes said.
The more bizarre moment — and play-call — came first. Why a second straight snap to Pacheco, this time with the Chiefs only 13 yards from the Raiders’ goal line?
Mahomes attempted to take the handoff, moving from right to left … and what he would do with it next, we’ll never know. The ball ended up on the ground and Nichols simply picked it up and scored a touchdown that will never be easier.
“They had penetration,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “Pacheco was trying to protect the ball there the best he could.”
The Raiders missed the extra point, but they closed the door on the Chiefs seizing momentum. And a moment later they applied the dead bolt.
Mahomes was looking for Justin Watson on the sideline when Jones jumped the route at the 33 and sprinted down the edge untouched. The two-point conversion made it 17-7.
Watson had noticed that Jones was playing more aggressively since the Raiders elevated Antonio Pierce to head coach after Week 8.
“He made a good play on it,” Watson said of Jones. “He’s been very jumpy ever since they got a new coach. I think he’s been playing free, and they’ve just been letting him have at it. We didn’t take advantage of his jumpiness today and let him come away with an easy one on the pick-six.”
The Chiefs’ offense struggled all day. For the most part, they had trouble freeing up receiving targets and couldn’t make running lanes for Pacheco, who returned after a two-game absence.
