Scott Gulbransen
The Las Vegas Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs own one of the most heated and bitter rivalries in all of sports. Dating back to their days as fledgling AFL teams, there’s never love lost between these now AFC West division rivals. The two meet again for the 129th time on Christmas Day in Kansas City.
The rivalry has been lopsided lately, as the Chiefs have won the past six straight games against the Raiders and 10 of the last 11. The Raiders last beat the Chiefs in Kansas City in 2020 under then-coach John Gruden, who celebrated the victory by doing a lap around Arrowhead Stadium on his way out of town. That move, of course, upset the Chiefs, who haven’t lost to Las Vegas since.
Some of the bad blood resurfaced last year in Josh McDaniels’ only full season as head coach when the Chiefs, who went on to beat the Raiders 31-13 in Las Vegas in Week 17, mocked the Raiders by doing a “ring-around-the-rosie” play on the Raiders home field.
When asked about the Chiefs and their trick plays, interim head coach Antonio Pierce said there’s only one way to stop it.
“We saw the ring around the rosie deal they did last year. All fun and games, that’s cool,” Pierce said. “But at some point, the best way to stop a trick play is to do what? Hit ‘em in the mouth.”
Las Vegas Raiders defense faces test vs. Kansas City Chiefs
For all their struggles in 2023, the Chiefs still present a formidable threat to a much-improved Raiders defense that is 10th in the NFL in scoring and seems to have found its identity in the weeks since Pierce took over. With young players like Divine Deablo and Malcolm Koonce developing into top contributors, the Raiders defense is no longer just the Maxx Crosby show.
Pierce knows the Raiders defense, and players like Deablo, Koonce and first-round pick Tyree Wilson, need to have another big performance against Kansas City to shut down quarterback Patrick Mahomes and whatever gadget plays Andy Reid dreams up.
“Every time you think you’ve seen one, you’ve seen it all, and here comes another one. They’re creative, they have fun doing it,” Pierce said. “That’s good. But obviously at the end of the day, you got to do your job, right? So, most of the time where those trick plays come from? Fringe, red zone, near the goal line. So, I mean, come on, we’re alerted to it already. We saw it last time we played them they ran the ball, and we don’t want that to happen. If they don’t run it in, then here comes the gadgets.”
Pierce, having grown up a Raiders fan, knows the importance of the rivalry with the Chiefs but also recognizes the game matters — for him, for his team, and the fans. There’s no doubt he wants to, if allowed to earn the job full-time, bring back the Raider’s mystique of old. When asked what he defined Raiders football as, in the scope of culture and style of play, Pierce pulled no punches where he thinks his team is on that scale.
“I see a certain physicality and nastiness of how they play not just on defense but throughout,” Pierce said. “I see a group that does not apologize, and that regardless of what the outcome is, you know that you poured your heart out on that field. And have we done that? At times. At times. I don’t think it’s something that you just hit a switch, or a new coach comes in, or a new player comes. It takes time to build. Most winning organizations take time to build, the problem is you don’t have a lot of time.”
