How teams need to attack Chiefs
Mike Florio and Peter King examine how the Raiders were able to slow down the Chiefs and pull off a big road win in Arrowhead.
Video Transcript
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MIKE FLORIO: Time for "PFT" on Yahoo Sports. Peter King, Mike Florio, some of the big stories in the National Football League, and a stunner on Sunday. The Las Vegas Raiders get their first signature victory as residents of Nevada by going into Missouri and taking down the defending Super Bowl Champions 40 to 32. Peter, have the Raiders given the rest of the league a blueprint of sorts on how to slow down Patrick Mahomes and company just enough to outscore them?
PETER KING: You know, when you think about this, Mike, one of the funny things about it is that the blueprint that the Oakland Raiders showed is that they are trying to capture the Kansas City blueprint, you know? And-- because think about it. The Denver Broncos and the Oakland Raiders both, this offseason, did stuff to try to counterbalance what-- you know, how far ahead of the division the Chiefs have gotten.
And they've gotten ahead of that division-- of this division because of speed on offense. And when you look at the weaponry the Chiefs have, and then you look at what the Raiders have done, and you just say, listen, there's a reason why they wanted Henry Ruggs over CeeDee Lamb and Jerry Jeudy. And that's because he's two ticks faster and-- and really can wreak havoc with a secondary.
And you don't really know the difference between 4.26 speed and 4.4 speed until you watch Henry Ruggs or, really, until you watch Tyreek Hill. But I think that's the biggest thing. The second thing-- the second thing is they have not put all of their eggs in that one basket. Look at Josh Jacobs.
You know, look at the tight end group that they have now. And-- and I would say that, Mike, the way that what the Las Vegas Raiders showed the NFL is get a lot of weapons, diverse weapons on offense. You're not gonna stop Patrick Mahomes regularly. You're just not. Get diverse weapons on offense so that you can go toe to toe with them in a heavyweight offensive fight.
MIKE FLORIO: Yeah. He's gonna score his points. Typically, he's gonna score his points in bunches. You just have to deal with it, accept it, and look for ways to finally score more than he does.
It helps if you can slow him down a little bit like the Raiders did in the second half. There's no reason blitzing the guy. That's something Dean Pees, the former Titans defensive coordinator said last year. He's still gonna get away from you so drop extra guys into coverage, confuse him that way.
Make him take more time, and maybe he loses sight of a Maxx Crosby, who got him in a way that we rarely see Patrick Mahomes get hit from behind because he always knows where everyone is. And also, Peter, you gotta have the killer instinct. This is where the Ravens went wrong a couple of weeks ago.
You get fourth and short inside the 10, you go for it. You gotta get a touchdown like the Raiders did in the first half when they're fourth and short in chip shot field goal range. No, forget about 3. We need 7. You gotta get 7 whenever you can if you have any hope, Peter, of having more points than the Chiefs and Mahomes have when the game ends.
PETER KING: I think also, Mike, one of the things that helps is to have a coach on your staff who knows Andy Reid very well and knows how Andy Reid thinks. And that coach just happens to be Jon Gruden. And I'm just gonna make this point that Jon Gruden knows that Andy Reid is simply going to try to get faster and faster every year. It's why one of the things I reported last April in the draft is that the Chiefs were thinking seriously, if-- you know, if Henry Ruggs fell down into the 20s, to try to move up and to get him.
And everybody said, that's absurd. Why would they do that? Because the shelf life for the really fast, slight guys is not long.
And you have to make sure that every game you play-- look at Sammy Watkins. He's out for a little bit now because he always is. So you get as many of those guys as you can and cycle them into your offense. And that is what I believe you're gonna see Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock do in future drafts.
MIKE FLORIO: From the Chiefs' perspective, they'll be extra motivated the next time they play. It'll be Monday night in Buffalo. We'll see if they can rebound from their first loss since November of 2019. We'll see you next time for more "PFT" on Yahoo videos.
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