Las Vegas Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs: 5 things we learned

The Raiders defense has some playmakers

The much-maligned Raiders defense came into the Week 5 matchup giving up an average of 30 points a game and letting offenses score at will. While the Chiefs still put up 32 points, it was how they put up those points and the way the Raiders defense made them work for it that made all the difference.

The defense made Patrick Mahomes uncomfortable all game and were it not for his incredible ability to extend plays they would have recorded more than the three sacks and five quarterback hits that they had on Sunday. Mahomes had two touchdowns and 340 yards but had his worst game of the season as he completed just 51% of his passes and threw his first interception of the season at a crucial time.

Jeff Heath’s interception was just the third by the Raiders defense this season, but it capped off a solid defensive performance against one of the best offenses in the NFL. They were gashed by Travis Kelce but did a solid job containing Tyreek Hill and limited the Chiefs to just 80 yards rushing with 21 of them coming from Mahomes scrambling.

Giving up 32 points is usually not a recipe for success but there a lot of reasons to be excited if the unit is beginning to gel and adapt to Paul Guenther’s scheme. Not every team has an all-world QB and Olympic speed at every skill position so if they can slow down KC, they should be able to be even better against lesser opposition.