Kansas City Chiefs at Las Vegas Raiders: 3 things to watch in Week 11

Kansas City Chiefs at Las Vegas Raiders: 3 things to watch in Week 11

Can the Raiders beat up on Patrick Mahomes again?

One of the keys to the Raiders victory in Week 5 was that they were able to make Patrick Mahomes uncomfortable in the pocket. The Raiders pass rush was able to sack the KC quarterback three times and registered five quarterback hits in a testy affair.

Mahomes was able to break contain several times and rushed for 21 yards and a touchdown but he also had the worst game of his career in terms of completion percentage so the rush clearly impacted his game. He still managed to throw for 340 yards and two touchdowns but his interception late in the game, a result of pressure in his face, was what swung the game in favor of the Raiders.

The rush also kept Mahomes from hitting his targets downfield which kept his air yards per attempt at 7.79, well below his season average of 9.6. It’s no secret that getting consistent pressure on a QB is the best way to slow him down but it is even more difficult considering how slippery Mahomes can be and how dangerous he is outside the pocket.

The Raiders countered that by having Arden Key as the spy on Mahomes and rushing three and it worked well in Week 5 but the Chiefs will have certainly come up with a counter of their own to that strategy. Stopping Mahomes is an unenviable task and he’s probably keeping Paul Guenther up at night this week but at least the Raiders have something of a blueprint to look back on and hopefully build on in their next matchup.