Devin White had his best game of the 2025 NFL season in Week 6, helping the Las Vegas Raiders pick up their second win of the year. He was all over the field and filled up the stat sheet with nine tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, one interception, one forced fumble and one pass defended.
His production was pivotal for a defense that needed a bounce-back performance after an awful showing the previous game. They also lost a starting linebacker, Germaine Pratt, who was released on Monday. White and the defense will have a much tougher challenge this weekend, however, as they face Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs.
The former All-Pro linebacker will need to continue his impressive play for a second consecutive week to help contain the opposing offense. Leading into the matchup, he expressed his confidence in doing exactly that.
Devin White does not hold back ahead of first Raiders-Chiefs matchup
White has had success against the Chiefs in the past, as he played a key role in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers holding the Chiefs to just nine points on three field goals in Super Bowl LV. He also led both teams with 12 tackles while also recording the game-sealing interception.
On Wednesday, he discussed how his experience facing Mahomes in the Super Bowl will help him on Sunday.
"For me alone, it's just I ain't scared. I know a lot of people look at him for what he is. The guy won three Super Bowls and whatnot, obviously, but it's just good to have experience being able to play him," White said. "I treat every game like a big game, but to go on the road and be able to go in their house when they got a good stadium and be able to do what we do. So, I know I'm going to be poised and I'll have my guys ready to play."
White also expressed quite a bit of confidence in being potentially being matched up with Kelce.
"Devin White gone win. That's all. Devin White gone win when I'm against him," White said.
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White's confidence heading into the matchup will surely excite Raiders fans; however, it is key that he backs it up on the field. Shutting Kelce down would significantly increase the team's chances of heading into the bye week on a two-game winning streak. Pete Carroll also noted the challenge that the future Hall of Fame Chiefs tight end presents.
"He's a real go-to guy for Mahomes. When he needs to get close to the sticks and trying to make those third downs or trying to get close to make the third downs, he's looking for Kelce and he's all over the place," Carroll said. "And they're hiding him, he's blocking, he's chipping, he's running his option routes. He's really good at all of that and he's a tremendous possession receiver. ... Kelce's really the sure bet and that's where you can see him finding him in a lot of crucial situations."
Kelce has burned the Raiders in the past, including a four-touchdown outing in 2022. If the linebacker unit and defense as a whole can have a strong performance for the second consecutive game, the team will have a real opportunity to improve to 3-4. It will also be important for White to back up his talk.