OAKLAND, Calif. -- Patrick Mahomes and the dynamic Kansas City Chiefs offense got all of the production they needed in a breathtaking second quarter.
Mahomes bounced back from the first scoreless opening quarter of his career in the regular season by throwing four touchdown passes in a near-perfect second period that led the Chiefs to a 28-10 victory over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.
The Raiders (1-1) held Mahomes in check for the opening 15 minutes and kept him off the scoreboard in the second half, but it didn't matter because he carved up an overmatched defense with big play after big play in the second quarter for the Chiefs (2-0).
"We were just hitting on the plays," Mahomes said. "We stayed with the same game plan, called the same plays. We hit on them in the second quarter and missed them in the other parts of the game. We had a great quarter. But as an offense there was too much sloppiness. We weren't as efficient as we usually are."
Mahomes didn't take long to get started in the second quarter, finding Demarcus Robinson open on a blown coverage for a 44-yard touchdown pass on the first play in the second quarter. He didn't slow down from there.
After the Raiders opted to punt on a fourth-and-1 near midfield, Mahomes and the Chiefs marched 95 yards and scored when Mahomes found rookie Mecole Hardman on a 42-yard deep strike for his first career catch to give Kansas City a 14-10 lead.
The Chiefs didn't stop there with Mahomes connecting on two more long TD passes in the final two minutes of the half, a 27-yarder to Travis Kelce and a 39-yarder to Robinson as the absence of injured star Tyreek Hill did little to slow Kansas City.
"That's just what we do," Robinson said.
Mahomes finished 30 for 44 for 443 yards. Robinson had six catches for 172 yards and 2 scores and Kelce had 7 catches for 107 yards and a TD to give the Chiefs their ninth victory in the past 10 meetings in this long-time rivalry.
The Raiders had broken out to a 10-0 lead with a field goal on the opening drive and a 4-yard TD pass to Tyrell Williams later in the first quarter. But Derek Carr also threw an interception in the end zone on a pass to Williams in the third quarter and the Raiders didn't score over the final three periods.
"They made some plays, a barrage of plays, in about a five-minute period," Raiders Coach Jon Gruden said. "It really turned the game around."
Mahomes' 278 yards passing in the second quarter were the most for a player in any quarter since Drew Brees had 294 in the fourth period against Atlanta on Nov. 9, 2008. Mahomes ended the quarter with a bang, with his last five pass attempts each going for at least 27 yards, with TDs to Hardman, Kelce and Robinson. The streak extended with a 28-yarder to Robinson on the first play of the third quarter before Mahomes finally threw an incompletion.
Carr became the Raiders' career passing leader on a 16-yard pass to Darren Waller in the second quarter, breaking the mark of 19,078 set by Hall of Famer Ken Stabler. Carr finished the day 23 for 38 for 198 yards with 1 TD and 2 interceptions. He has 19,196 yards in his career.
This is likely the final NFL game ever played with infield dirt on the field with the Raiders next home game not until after the end of the World Series and the team set to move to Las Vegas next year. The Coliseum is the last stadium that hosts both NFL and baseball games and has special meaning to Mahomes, whose father Patrick Mahomes Sr. pitched here exactly 24 years ago, two days before the younger Mahomes was born.
Kansas City 0 28 0 0 -- 28
Oakland 10 0 0 0 -- 10
First Quarter
Oak--FG Carlson 28, 10:21.
Oak--T.Williams 4 pass from Carr (Carlson kick), 4:46.
Second Quarter
KC--Robinson 44 pass from Mahomes (Butker kick), 14:55.
KC--Hardman 42 pass from Mahomes (Butker kick), 5:51.
KC--Kelce 27 pass from Mahomes (Butker kick), 1:41.
KC--Robinson 39 pass from Mahomes (Butker kick), :40.
Attendance--52,748.
KC Oak First downs 24 19
Total Net Yards 464 307
Rushes-yards 22-31 19-129
Passing 433 178
Punt Returns 6-48 2-10
Kickoff Returns 2-37 1-30
Interceptions Ret. 2-10 0-0
Comp-Att-Int 30-44-0 23-38-2
Sacked-Yards Lost 2-10 3-20
Punts 5-39.2 6-44.0
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 2-0
Penalties-Yards 10-114 7-52
Time of Possession 32:35 27:25
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Kansas City, McCoy 11-23, Dam.Williams 9-8, Thompson 1-1, Mahomes 1-(minus 1). Oakland, Jacobs 12-99, Carr 2-18, Washington 3-9, Richard 2-3.
PASSING--Kansas City, Mahomes 30-44-0-443. Oakland, Carr 23-38-2-198.
RECEIVING--Kansas City, Kelce 7-107, Robinson 6-172, Watkins 6-49, Hardman 4-61, Dam.Williams 3-48, McCoy 3-0, Thomas 1-6. Oakland, Waller 6-63, T.Williams 5-46, Renfrow 4-30, Carrier 3-33, Washington 2-26, Richard 2-2, Grant 1-(minus 2).
Sports on 09/16/2019