Five things that stood out about the Kansas City Chiefs’ narrow win against Raiders

The Las Vegas Raiders keep trying to commit to this rivalry — but with antics, not with actually doing their part to even the series.

The Chiefs beat the Raiders 30-29 on Monday Night Football, after initially trailing by 17 points, and more notably after hearing plenty from the Raiders while they were trailing by those 17 points.

We’ll get to that, but it’s worth pointing out the history here. Two years ago, the Raiders decided to take an extra lap around Arrowhead Stadium after beating the Chiefs. In the next meeting, Patrick Mahomes threw for 348 yards and two touchdowns.

A year ago, the Raiders gathered on the Arrowhead logo shortly before kickoff — a major no-no — and the Chiefs responded with a 48-9 win that same afternoon.

On Monday, the Raiders decided to fire up Mahomes and Travis Kelce with some words.

And, well, you know how that went.

Let’s get to the five observations from immediately after the game.

And, spoiler alert: You don’t need my commentary on that roughing-the-passer call. All your feelings ain’t wrong.

1. Some bad advice

I have no idea what Raiders safety Tre’von Moehrig said or did to Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, but I’m confident it was a really, really bad idea to say it. Or do it.

Whatever.

At some point, teams are going to learn to stop (ticking) off players on this team.

But learn it the hard way, apparently.

In the third quarter, it became clear Kelce had a beef with Moehrig, less clear why, but more evident that it created some problems for the Raiders.

Kelce responded with the first four-touchdown game for a tight end since 1985. And after his second, he used his fingers to show “two, five.”

2. The bad advice that didn’t affect the outcome

The Chiefs had a chance to put the game in the hands of their offense.

They elected to put the game in the hands of their defense instead.

Bold choice.

It worked.

But I wouldn’t advise it again.

Andy Reid had the option to ice the game had he gone for a fourth-down call beyond midfield, but he instead punted the ball back to the Raiders with more than two minutes to play.

The decision boosted the Raiders chances of winning by 8-9 percentage points, depending on which fourth-down model you favor. But here, it stood out even more. The Chiefs offense had scored 30 points on its previous five possessions. The defense had allowed points on six of its previous seven.

As I said, it worked, so I get it if you don’t want to hear any of this. But these are the types of decisions that can swing games more than any single play call.

3. The Raiders O-line

The O-line, plus one, that is.

Thayer Munford might’ve gotten the best workout any player on the night. Who is Thayer Munford, you ask? Well, he’s a backup tackle for the Raiders, but on Monday night, the Raiders elected to use six offensive linemen for most of the night.

Might’ve been strategy. Might have been necessitated after tight end Darren Waller’s injury.

They might’ve accidentally stumbled into their best strategy of the game. It was unusual enough to give the Chiefs fits. They initially added a safety to the box to counter the formation, but they allowed single coverage on the outside, and Derek Carr pounced by giving Davante Adams jump balls.

To counter that, the Chiefs reverted to two safeties in the defensive backfield, but the Raiders happily handed the ball to Jacobs and let him loose — with an extra blocker, to boot.

It’s successful enough to wonder if it will be replicated by a future Chiefs opponent — or if the element of surprise is part of the reason for the success.

4. ... And the Chiefs O-line

The Chiefs offensive line gets a headline for a second straight week.

For an entirely different reason.

A week after they embraced the challenge in Tampa Bay — aided by some Shaquil Barrett ill-advised comments — the Chiefs offensive line was torched, particularly in the first half.

Was this the same group?

Well, kind of. They were missing Trey Smith at right guard, but fill-in Nick Allegretti wasn’t the issue. The tackles were. Raiders edge rushers Chandler Jones and Maxx Crosby dominated their individual matchups with tackles Andrew Wylie and Orlando Brown Jr.

Mahomes was sacked three times in the first half, twice by Crosby.

The Chiefs made an adjustment in the second half, rolling out Mahomes frequently from the pocket and also offering help with Jerick McKinnon often chipping the edge on Brown’s side.

5. Third downs, again

When the Chiefs offense gets rolling, you can make a lengthy list of the reasons for it.

But there’s been one pretty distinct barometer to tell you what kind of day they’re having.

Third-down conversions.

Over a two-game stretch against the Chargers and Colts — two games in which the offense struggled — they converted just 7 of 22 third downs. As they dominated the Buccaneers a week ago, they converted 11 of their initial 13 third-down attempts and were 12 of 17 for the game.

Monday? After starting 0 for 3, they move the chains on 7 of their next 8 attempts.

Guess what? The offense took off.