It took a botched snap from the Las Vegas Raiders for the Kansas City Chiefs to secure a Black Friday nail-biter at Arrowhead. On the day Patrick Mahomes became the Chiefs’ all-time touchdown leader with 238 (surpassing Len Dawson with 237), the reigning Super Bowl champions scraped by with a 19-17 victory.

The Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell made the fixture juicy for the worst team in the league by throwing two touchdowns. However, he fumbled the ball in garbage time, handing the possession back to the Chiefs.

Mahomes was busy going through brainstorming his moves when suddenly they were handed a lifeline. However, he would have preferred to wrap the game up early.

Mahomes ended the game with a respectable 26 completions out of 46 tries for 306 yards and 1 touchdown.

Andy Reid’s Chiefs became the first team to book an automatic qualification spot in the 2024 NFL Playoffs by beating the Raiders. Their record improved to 11-1, but statistically, they have a very poor point differential.

Since the 1970 merger, no team with an 11-1 record has a worse points differential than the Chiefs +54. In 2020, they boasted over +140 points at this stage.

The Chiefs have yet to figure out a solution to the left tackle spot. Jawaan Taylor continues to commit unnecessary penalties, costing valuable yardage. The Chiefs signed veteran DJ Humphries from Arizona, but it’s unclear when he will be available to start.

Regardless of the struggles, the Chiefs still have a strong squad, full of players who have won titles in the past. Most importantly, they have two time NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes as their quarterback.

Regular season is one thing, but the Chiefs have a knack for kicking it up a notch in the postseason. So, counting them out due to a slight slump isn’t a wise course of action for any team that has Super Bowl aspirations.