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On the opening drive of the Kansas City Chiefs Week 18 game against the Las Vegas Raiders, quarterback Patrick Mahomes connected with receiver Justin Watson for a 67-yard gain on Kansas City’s first pass play of the game.
Although the play was electric and put the Chiefs inside Las Vegas’ red zone, Mahomes said after the game he was disappointed with Watson.
Huh?
“Like you said, Justin [Watson] wasn’t the first read, but he was an alert — just get your eyes there to see,” Mahomes said of the pass play. “He did a good job of that motion — he didn’t get the ball thrown to him all practice and he was just staying alive.
“They (the Raiders) played a coverage that they don’t play a lot… he kind of got down that red line — the sideline — and I was able to get the ball to him and make a play. I was disappointed he didn’t score, he supposed to be like the fastest dude on the field, but he didn’t get in there. So, I’m sure Mecole [Hardman] and Marquez [Valdes-Scantling] will give him a little crap for that.”
Consider Mahomes’ comments a playful jab at his teammate that made a big play in a key regular season game for the Chiefs.
Chiefs Claim No. 1 Seed at Allegiant Stadium
The Chiefs beat the Raiders 31-13 in Week 18, giving the AFC West champions a 14-3 record for the regular season and the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
Mahomes completed 18-of-26 pass attempts for 202 yards and 1 touchdown against the division-rival Raiders. Mahomes ended his MVP campaign this season with 5,250 passing yards, completed 67% of his passes, had 45 total touchdowns (41 passing, 4 rushing), and logged 12 interceptions, per ESPN.
Mahomes’ only touchdown pass against the Raiders was to running back Jerick McKinnon on a shovel pass on Kansas City’s opening drive. Week 18 marked the sixth straight game in which McKinnon caught at least 1 touchdown pass. He finished the season with 9 total.
The other touchdown scorers for the Chiefs were rookie Isiah Pacheco (8 rushes, 64 yards, 1 TD), running back Ronald Jones (8 rushes, 33 yards, 1 TD), and receiver Kadarius Toney (3 carries, 26 yards, 1 TD, 2 catches, 18 yards).
Kansas City’s defense got the best of quarterback Jarrett Stidham and the Las Vegas offense. The Chiefs’ pass rush got to Stidham for 6 total sacks, he also threw 1 interception, and the defense as a unit only allowed 4.3 yards per pass, per ESPN.
Now that the Chiefs are locked in as the No. 1 seed in the AFC they will have a bye week during the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
Twitter Reacts to Chiefs Claiming No. 1 Seed
Despite the 14-3 record and overall successful season for the Chiefs, they needed a little help from the NFL to claim the No. 1 seed. This sparked a spirited discussion about Kansas City following its Week 18 victory over the Raiders.
“The Chiefs getting the No. 1 seed after losing to the Bills and Bengals isn’t right,” Jarrett Bailey of USA Today wrote.
“Cincinnati Bengals can complain all they want,” David Furones of the Sun Sentinel wrote. “With Chiefs winning, CIN wasn’t going to get No. 1 seed anyway. Buffalo got short end of the cancellation as they went from controlling own destiny for it to KC now locking it up. As far as CIN coin flip situation, don’t lose to BAL.”
“I’m going to say this one time and one time only! THE CHIEFS WERE NOT GIFTED THE NO.1 SEED!” another user wrote.
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