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The Las Vegas Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs don’t like each other very much. The two have disrespected each other over the past few years but the Chiefs own the rivalry right now. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes has gone 9-1 against the Raiders in his career so it hasn’t been much of a rivalry over the years.
Despite the lopsidedness of the games, the two teams still get heated whenever they play. Early in the 2022 season, the Raiders came into Kansas City and got off to a 17-0 lead against the Chiefs. It looked like Las Vegas would pull off the upset until the Chiefs came back and won 30-29.
One of the most notable things to happen in the game was between defensive end Maxx Crosby and Mahomes. Crosby sacked the quarterback twice in the game and the two started to get heated. At one point in the game, Crosby went up to Mahomes and hit facemasks with him. That was what led to the viral “I’m here” clip of the quarterback yelling at Crosby. Mahomes later said that it was his fault that things escalated because he walked up to the defensive end.
Crosby has now given his side of the story in a video clip for The 33rd Team.
Mahomes Set to Play in AFC Championship
The Raiders love to face the Chiefs in the playoffs but that’s going to have to wait. The team is welcoming the Cincinnati Bengals to Kansas City for the AFC Championship game on Sunday. The Chiefs were almost struck with disaster when Mahomes got hurt against the Jacksonville Jaguars but he’s been able to recover quickly. The quarterback has practiced all week despite the high ankle sprain and is on track to play.
“I feel like I can still do a lot of things, but we’ll see as we get closer and closer,” Mahomes said Thursday, via ESPN. “We’ll see during the game. You can’t fully do exactly what it’s going to be like in those moments in the game. All I can do is prepare myself the best way possible, and then when we get in the game, you hope adrenaline takes over and you can make those throws when you need to.”
AFC West Still Trying to Catch Chiefs
2022 was supposed to be the year the Chiefs finally faced competition in the AFC West. The Denver Broncos added Russell Wilson and the Raiders traded for Davante Adams while the Los Angeles Chargers brought in J.C. Jackson and Khalil Mack. Despite that, the Chiefs easily won the division with a 13-4 record. The Chargers made the playoffs at 10-7 but were knocked out in the first round. The Raiders went 6-11 and the Broncos went 5-12.
The biggest advantage Kansas City has over all of the teams in the AFC West is at head coach. Andy Reid is in a class of his own in the division. Until the other teams can find the right coaches, the Chiefs are going to keep easily winning the division. Mahomes is clearly the best quarterback but it takes more than that to win a division seven years in a row.
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