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

The Chiefs locked up the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs, though not all that comes with it.

Well, maybe not. That’s up to the Bills on Sunday.

But first things first: The Chiefs did their part Saturday, concluding their regular season schedule with a 31-13 victory against the Raiders. They played their most complete half of the season across the opening two quarters, and what better time than on the verge of the playoffs.

It’s what comes next that takes the driver’s seat, but before we move to that, let’s take a look at five observations from the immediate past.

1. The deep pass

A week ago, Patrick Mahomes misfired on enough deep throws that he felt the need to find wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling after the game just to apologize.

On his first throw Saturday, Mahomes made a perfect strike on — guess what — a deep throw.

A really deep throw.

He found Justin Watson streaking down the left sideline for 67 yards, the longest Chiefs play from scrimmage this season.

Mahomes had a quiet second half, but his first half decided the outcome before halftime. He completed 14 of 17 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown.

2. What to make of Kadarius Toney

A mid-season trade for Kadarius Toney positioned the Chiefs for a future with at least one of their impending free agents at wide receiver.

Turns out, it’s a pretty good addition for the present, too.

Toney found the end zone twice Saturday, though only one of them counted. (We won’t forget the one that did not — it followed the spinning huddle, which I’m guessing you’ll hear more about.)

Anyway, Toney’s rapid development in the offense presents an advantageous dynamic for the Chiefs, and one we’ve not really seen in the Patrick Mahomes Era. The Chiefs have basically added one of their most intriguing offensive weapons late in the season — so late, in fact, that potential playoff opponents can’t be sure exactly how the Chiefs will use him.

It’s one thing to have Toney’s skill-set, particularly his ability to stretch a defense horizontally. It’s another to be able to surprise a defense with it.

The Chiefs might have both.

3. Chris Jones in the regular season. And Chris Jones in the playoffs.

The Chris Jones breakthrough season arrived in 2018, when he put together a streak of at least one sack in 11 straight games.

On paper, this is his best season since.

Beneath the surface, given the attention he now commands, it is his best altogether.

With another 2 1/2 sacks Saturday, Jones finished the season with 15 1/2 sacks, tying the career-high mark he set back in 2018.

His first sack on Saturday ended a promising Raiders opening drive. His last put the game to bed.

But now he has to check one more box, and this has proven more elusive.

Do it in the playoffs.

Jones has played 12 playoff games without a single sack — a remarkable stat considering he averages three sacks every five games.

4. The punt team over Mahomes

This game wasn’t close, and perhaps that possibility played into Andy Reid’s thinking early on.

Truth is, through, it shouldn’t matter.

The Chiefs punted on fourth-and-2 from the opposition’s 42-yard line, and I’m trying to compute a situation in which that would actually make sense — but particularly so when Mahomes is your quarterback, and you’re facing the league’s 31st-ranked defense.

The end result was actually a net positive. Juan Thornhill picked off a pass beyond midfield, and it led to another Chiefs touchdown.

But in the process-over-results business, the Chiefs are about to enter a postseason in which the games figure to be just a tad more competitive than the one in Vegas.

These are the types of decisions that can swing games, and if I’m in key moments of a football game, I’m asking Patrick Mahomes to play a role in the game-changing plays.

5. What Chiefs hope is next

The Chiefs locked up the No. 1 seed in the AFC, but as aforementioned, it doesn’t entail all the No. 1 seed typically does entail.

Yet.

Chiefs fans become Patriots fans on Sunday, because that’s who travels to play in Buffalo. If the Bills hold, then a potential AFC Championship Game between the Bills and Chiefs would become a neutral-site game, not one played inside Arrowhead Stadium. If the Patriots win, though, the Chiefs secure homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.

Either way, they already have the biggest advantage — a first-round bye. A win in Vegas tallies one victory on the record but two wins in theory. The Chiefs will be the only AFC playoff team sitting at home next week, absent the stress of playing a team with a winning record, and absent the stress of hoping everyone makes it through a game healthy.