Getty Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce.
12 games into the season and the Las Vegas Raiders are still the only team to hand the Kansas City Chiefs a loss. A few teams have gotten close, including the Raiders a second time, but the Chiefs are able to win most close games. However, it would seem that one loss to the silver and black is still in their minds.
After Kansas City squeaked out a win against the Denver Broncos on Sunday, star tight end Travis Kelce gave a shout out to the Raiders. He was roasted online for the gaff.
The #Raiders living rent-free in Travis Kelce’s head. The Chiefs just hung on to beat the BRONCOS and what did this dude just say…?🤣🤣🤣
Kelce just said hats off to the Raiders. We’re in the Chiefs head? Haha
Kelce: I mean hats off to the Raiders.
huh? 😂
Some teams preach never overlooking an opponent. Then there’s Travis Kelce who just called the Broncos the Raiders on national television 😂
Travis Kelce just called the Broncos “the Raiders” in his postgame interview
Kelce saying “hats off to the Raiders” is way more disrespectful than the backflip TD lmfaoooooooo
While Kelce didn’t correct himself, it’s easy to assume that he just misspoke. That said, it does show that he’s had the Raiders on his mind. Las Vegas has played the Chiefs better than any other team has this season. If both teams are in the playoffs, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Kansas City would hope to avoid them.
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Raiders Have Played Poorly Since Chiefs Loss
For a brief moment, it looked like the Raiders were going to be one of the better teams in the NFL. They won three games in a row and almost beat the Chiefs for a fourth straight win. Many were very high on the team after that stretch.
However, the Raiders have appeared to cave under those expectations. They got embarrassed by the Atlanta Falcons the week after the Chiefs game and probably should’ve lost to the winless New York Jets. The Raiders are still very much in the playoff race right now but play a strong Indianapolis Colts team this week. A win against them would be massive considering they’re both in the race for the Wild Card.
Will the Raiders Make the Playoffs?
It’s very difficult to gauge just how good this Raiders team is. They’ve beaten very good teams in the Chiefs, New Orleans Saints and Cleveland Browns. They’ve also lost to bad teams like the New England Patriots and Falcons. As of right now, it’s anybody’s guess how they might play against the Colts this week.
Fortunately for the Raiders, they have a win over the Browns, who hold the first Wild Card spot. They also have games against the Colts and Miami Dolphins, who hold the second and third spots. If Las Vegas can sweep their Wild Card competition, a playoff berth seems likely. That said, it’s going to be a tall order to make that happen.
The Colts and the Dolphins have good teams. The Raiders get to play both of them at home but the lack of fans in the stadium lessens their home-field advantage. There are still four games to be played so there are a lot of scenarios in which the Raiders can lose a game or two and still get into the playoffs. However, they can guarantee a spot if they win out. The Colts and Dolphins are good but beatable. The other two games the Raiders have are against the Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos – two teams they’ve already beaten. If Las Vegas start playing as they did earlier in the season, a playoff berth is very likely.
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