The terrifying undefeated Chiefs would like you to know your predictions were wrong | NFL

The rivalry between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders dates back to the formation of the American Football League in 1960, when the Chiefs were the Dallas Texans and the Raiders resided in Oakland. At no point in this rivalry have the two teams met with a record of 3-0 or better until Sunday’s game at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. An undefeated record wasn’t entirely surprising for the Chiefs with Patrick Mahomes, but the Raiders? The team only won three games last season, but this new Raiders team led by Klint Kubiak presents all kinds of challenges to opponents.

At first, it looked like the Raiders might be off to their first 4-0 start to the season since 2002, when they reached the Super Bowl, where they were cheered by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their former head coach, Jon Gruden. Kubiak’s team held a 13-10 lead at halftime Sunday, and Kubiak told CBS’ Tracy Wolfson at halftime that his team was going to win the game.

Things looked promising for the Raiders until running back Kenneth Walker’s two touchdown runs in the fourth quarter put the score at 30-19 in Kansas City’s favor, and while the Raiders were expected to stage a comeback, it didn’t really happen. Kirk Cousins’ incredible 20-yard touchdown pass to tight end Brock Bowers with 1:46 left in the game, and Cousins’ successful two-point conversion to receiver Cody White, put the score at 30-27, and the Chiefs went three on their next drive after an unsuccessful Raiders onside kick. But Chiefs punter Matt Araiza placed the ball perfectly on the Las Vegas one-yard line, and Chiefs safety Xavier Nwankpa’s interception of a Cousins ​​pass with 10 seconds left sealed the game.

The Raiders may not have won the game, but they continue to earn the respect they haven’t earned in years. Kubiak has brought all the smarts he showed as the Seattle Seahawks’ offensive coordinator last season, and defensive coordinator Rob Leonard has a group of lesser-known players (plus edge demon Maxx Crosby) playing above their projected stations. And it doesn’t hurt that Cousins, at 38, is playing some of the best football of his career.

As for the 4-0 Chiefs, they are officially back on top of the NFL after a disastrous 6-11 2025 season. Anyone who picked other teams to compete in the Super Bowl (and that includes just about everyone) might want to check those opinions at the door. Mahomes isn’t the force that blew away opponents in his prime, but he’s been careful with the ball this season. He has just two interceptions in addition to his seven touchdown passes and is still unfazed on third downs. Two of his top targets were injured in Sunday’s game — Rashee Rice left with a hamstring issue and Tyquan Thornton was forced out after suffering a dislocated ankle — but the offense was bolstered by the addition of Walker, who had 173 yards, 117 yards, 70 yards and 177 yards in his first four games since arriving in Kansas City from the Seattle Seahawks. And that’s before we get to the now-routine brilliance of Steve Spagnuolo’s defensive schemes.

The Week 18 rematch between these two teams could be about more than just AFC West bragging rights.

MVP of the week

CeeDee Lamb, WR, Dallas Cowboys. Lamb’s work against the Houston Texans in Dallas’ 34-30 victory may have been his single-game masterpiece. Lamb saw 21 targets, catching 17 passes for 189 yards and the game-winning touchdown with 40 seconds remaining. The 21 targets in a game are tied for fifth-most since records began, and the 17 catches are tied for fourth-most all-time.

Additionally, if Dak Prescott had seen Lamb wide open on a play where he didn’t get the ball (much to Lamb’s frustration), the receiver’s final numbers might have been even better. A week after the Cowboys coaching staff failed players in all three phases, Lamb apparently decided to take care of business on his own – although he had a little help from running back Javonte Williams and his three touchdowns.

As for the 0-4 Texans, we’re sure they already know that the only team to reach the playoffs with that kind of opening deficit was the 1992 San Diego Chargers.

Video of the week

Through the first three weeks of the season, Drake Maye’s regression has been one of the most disconcerting stories in the league. The 2025 MVP runner-up hadn’t looked like this player all season, but Maye looked good in a crucial 29-26 win over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Maye completed 22 of 37 passes for 269 yards, three touchdowns, one interception and a passer rating of 97.7, and his game-winning touchdown to Efton Chism with 1:50 left was certainly a highlight for the second-year undrafted free agent from Eastern Washington, who had caught two passes on three targets for minus a yard this season before his 23-yarder here.

Statistic of the week

It was one of the strangest sequences in football history. The New York Jets failed to record an interception last season and the drought continued through the first three games of the 2026 campaign.

It appeared relief had finally come in the first quarter of the Jets’ Sunday game against the Chicago Bears when defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat picked off a pass from Tyson Bagent, but the interception was called back due to an illegal use of hands penalty on cornerback Azareye’h Thomas.

The Jets’ long nightmare would end later in the half, however, when Minkah Fitzpatrick picked off a deep pass from Bagent to Colston Loveland. It was the Jets’ first interception in 637 days, 636 opposing pass attempts and 20 games.

We don’t think any team will come close to this “record” for a very long time. Aaron Glenn’s team lost the game 23-12, and the Bears had more first downs (34) than the Jets had offensive plays (32), but you take wins wherever you can.

Elsewhere in the league

Philadelphia Eagles fans are generally not patient with their team and they have reason to be anxious after Sunday. With 7:31 left and the Eagles leading 20-10, Philly had fourth-and-goal from the Los Angeles two-yard line. At this point, the Rams had a 3.2% win probability. Jalen Hurts threw a fumble to Darius Cooper (who had already caught two touchdown passes in the game), and the Rams – who were fighting to avoid a 1-3 start to the season – began their own drive 98 yards from the end zone.

Sean McVay’s team covered that distance during a 10-play drive that included four Eagles penalties and ended with a 1-yard touchdown run from Kyren Williams. The Eagles went three-and-out on their next drive. Then the Rams drove 79 yards in 10 plays and ended that drive with a Williams run that put the Rams up 24-20.

It was up to the Eagles to respond, and they didn’t. On their final drive of the game, Hurts was sacked twice and threw two incompletions. Overall, the Eagles went 0-12 on third down, their 172 total offensive yards were their lowest in a game in 12 years and their 68 net passing yards were the team’s lowest total in 23 years.

Yes, the Eagles were missing some key players, including right tackle Lane Johnson, wide receiver DeVonta Smith and running back Saquon Barkley, but that’s going to be tough to swallow for the entire city of Philadelphia.

It used to be that field goals of 60 yards or more were the ultimate rarity in professional football. Only four such goals were achieved during the 20th century. This has certainly changed over the past few seasons as better running backs and better kickers have taken over the NFL. Kickers made 12 of 22 attempts of 60-plus yards last season, and it’s become even more common in 2026.

At the start of Week 4 alone, three kickers attempted kicks of 60 yards or more late in the first half, and two successfully converted them.

Brandon Aubrey of the Dallas Cowboys, who made at least one of these field goals in each of his four NFL seasons, was the one who missed. But Chad Ryland of the Arizona Cardinals nailed a 60-yard field goal with two seconds left in the first half – unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to beat the New York Giants, who triumphed 36-24. And in his team’s 24-18 victory over the Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens kicker Tyler Loop made a 64-yard field goal.

Drake Maye is back in shape (at least for now), which means Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert’s struggles remain the most confusing story of the season. Herbert was supposed to pair his rare physical gifts with the schematic genius of new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, but that by no means happened. Against the Seattle Seahawks, Herbert threw an interception on the first play of the game. On the next play, Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold returned it to the Chargers, via edge rusher Tuli Tuipulotu. It was the first time in professional football history that quarterbacks traded interceptions on the first two plays of a game. From there, however, the Seahawks took care of business. And now the Chargers are 0-4, something very few people expected at the start of the season.

Well-deserved praise for Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores. Flores’ crew has already been one of our pleasant surprises of the season, and in their 15-10 win over the Miami Dolphins, the Vikings didn’t score a touchdown. They also didn’t score a touchdown in their 9-3 Week 2 win over the Chicago Bears. Why is this relevant? Because this hasn’t happened since the beginning of professional football. The last teams to start 4-0 and fail to score a touchdown in two of those games were (in order) the 1922 Chicago Cardinals, the 1923 Chicago Cardinals, and the 1934 Detroit Lions.

Don’t worry Bryce Young, we see you becoming a competent NFL quarterback (with help from Tetairoa McMillan).