The Las Vegas Raiders had a very bad Week 15 of the 2025 NFL season. They traveled to the East Coast and lost to the Philadelphia Eagles 31-0 in what played out like a "buy game" between a blue blood NCAA basketball program and a local low-major school.
But their AFC West rival, the Kansas City Chiefs, might have had a worse Sunday. Not only did the Los Angeles Chargers eliminate them from playoff contention for the first time since Patrick Mahomes was drafted in 2017, but Mahomes suffered a torn ACL in the final minute of the game.
Obviously, this means that he'll be out for the season, and it is likely that he'll miss the beginning of next year as well. In what was going to be an offseason of soul-searching in Kansas City, they were dealt another massive blow with Mahomes' major injury. But the ripple effect doesn't stop there.
Patrick Mahomes-less Chiefs may be beatable for Raiders in Week 18
Because this is a Raiders blog, we look at things through Silver and Black lenses. As brutal as Mahomes' injury is for him personally, the Chiefs as an organization and their fan base, it's not exactly a good thing for Las Vegas either. Especially as it pertains to the 2026 NFL Draft.
Currently, the Raiders are clinging to the No. 2 overall pick in next April's event, and they control their destiny to the top selection if they lose out. Week 17's game against the New York Giants has been the one that the fan base is holding their breath about, as this will be two 2-12 teams duking it out.
Now, however, they'll face a Mahomes-less Chiefs in Week 18 that has with nothing tangible to play for. Without Mahomes in the lineup, and with the playoffs out of reach, it wouldn't be a shock to see Kansas City sit veterans like Travis Kelce and Chris Jones, or banged up stars like Trent McDuffie.
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Last year, the Chiefs' backups lost 38-0 to the Denver Broncos in the regular season finale. Obviously, this Raiders team is about as down in the dumps as any NFL franchise, and they lost 31-0 in Kansas City in Week 7. But they're probably good enough to beat a crew of mainly backups. Right?
If Las Vegas does win this utterly meaningless game against a slew of second-stringers, it wouldn't be enough to save Pete Carroll's job. It wouldn't be enough to change anything important other than the Raiders' record, potentially screwing them out of a top pick in the draft that is rightfully theirs.
Raider Nation has struggled too much this season not to end up with the No. 1 selection. However, Mahomes' injury and the ripple effect from it throws a wrench into things for Las Vegas' draft position. Leave it to Mahomes to be the puppetmaster for the Silver and Black from the IR. Oh, the power.