The Las Vegas Raiders' 20-14 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas Day of last year was the most impressive win of the season. Due to the complete dominance of the Raiders' defense over the Chiefs, one could argue that this game was even better than the Chargers' 63-21 thrashing.
In the Week 16 match, the Las Vegas defense equaled the Kansas City offense's total touchdowns (2), and they did so with impressive style. It was such a surprising performance that it ended up kickstarting the Chiefs ahead of their Super Bowl run.
Travis Kelce says Raiders 'ruined' Christmas
Travis Kelce has grown accustomed to dominating the Raiders, especially at Arrowhead Stadium. To get completely outmatched physically was not something he expected. On a recent episode of the “Bussin’ with the Boys” podcast, Kelce shared his thoughts on the game/
"We got our a** beat by the f***ing Raiders on Christmas. F***ing ruined Christmas, motherf***ers. , he had those dudes ready to brawl out there on the field," the star tight end said. "One hundred percent man. And I love that s***. I was like, man if we play with that kind of edge, or that kind of toughness, that kind of like don't f*** with us mentality, we won't be stopped. And it just kind of ended up like that. But that Raiders game was definitely a turning point."
Raiders toughness was turning point for Chiefs
Kelce referred to his, along with pop star girlfriend Taylor Swift’s Christmas being “ruined” because of the Raiders game. This would be the last disappointment the Chiefs would experience in the season because, after the Week 16 loss to the Raiders, the Chiefs rattled off six straight wins on their way to a second straight Super Bowl.
Kelce also noted how hard that Raiders team played for Pierce, which seems to be a common theme surrounding the team since he took over as head coach. It’s safe to say energy and effort will probably not be something that is lacking under the Raiders' new head coach, and we should expect this kind of intensity in every Raiders game next season.