Chiefs streak. explained: Kansas City sets NFL record with yet another bizarre ending in tight win over Raiders

By | November 29, 2024
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Andy Reid’s squad continues to finds new ways to win in crunch time.

The Chiefs took down the Raiders 19-17 at Arrowhead Stadium on Friday, improving to 11-1 this season and officially claiming an AFC playoff spot.

It took a strange play at the end to seal Kansas City’s win, as the Raiders lost the ball in the final moments of a potential game-winning drive. However, in the process of another close victory, Kansas City set a new NFL record.

Here’s a look at the Raiders’ fumble in the final minutes of Friday’s game, plus how the Chiefs’ Week 13 victory made some history regarding the team’s incredible success in one-score games. 

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Chiefs’ NFL record one-possession wins streak

With the nail-biting victory, Kansas City won its 14th consecutive one-score game, a new NFL record.

The @Chiefs love a nail-biter 😅 pic.twitter.com/GExwPlcb54

— NFL (@NFL) November 29, 2024

Kansas City’s historic run of success in close games dates all the way back to its 25-17 win over the Bengals on December 31, 2023. Coincidentally, the Chiefs’ last loss in a one-score game came against the opponent it beat on Friday, the Raiders. On Christmas Day of last season, Reid’s group fell 20-14 to Las Vegas.

The Chiefs’ NFL record also includes postseason games, meaning their 27-24 win over Buffalo, 17-10 win over Baltimore and 25-22 overtime win over San Fransisco in last year’s playoff run factor into the record.

Although Kansas City does have one loss this season thanks to the Bills, the type of success the team has had in close games recently hasn’t been seen before in NFL history. The Chiefs’ new NFL record overtook a successful 13-game run in one-score games by the Patriots between 2003-2004.

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Raiders fumble on final drive vs. Chiefs

Kansas City got out to a 16-3 advantage in the third quarter of Friday’s game, but the Raiders came storming back as they looked to pull off a road upset over the two-time defending Super Bowl champs. 

After touchdowns from Brock Bowers and Tre Tucker, the Raiders took the lead, also making it a one-score game — and of course, that’s usually when the Chiefs operate at their best. Kansas City kicker Matthew Wright gave the Chiefs the lead with a field goal to make it 19-17, and a funky play at the end is what sealed the game’s result.

After Las Vegas drove down the field without any timeouts, it needed a field goal to win the game. On 2nd & 3, the Raiders spiked the ball with 15 seconds remaining within field goal range at the Chiefs 32-yard-line. On the next play, quarterback Aidan O’Connell wasn’t ready for a snap from his center, and the Chiefs jumped on the fumbled ball. 

O’Connell took the blame for the blunder, saying he clapped for the ball from center Jackson Powers-Johnson too early.

After the game, Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce added that if the third down play had gone according to plan, O’Connell was going to throw the ball out of bounds to kill some clock before trying a field goal.

Chiefs remaining 2024 schedule

If it’s going to keep extending its unreal run in one-score games, Kansas City has five regular season games left to do so. The Chiefs’ Week 14 matchup will come against the Chargers, and they’ll also later face three teams currently holding AFC playoff spots.

Date Matchup Time (ET)
Dec. 8 vs. Chargers 8:20 p.m.
Dec. 15 at Browns 1 p.m.
Dec. 21 vs. Texans 1 p.m.
Dec. 25 at Steelers 1 p.m.
TBD at Broncos TBD

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