5 takeaways as Chiefs RB Kenneth Walker III sparks 4th-quarter rally in Sin City

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The Chiefs scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns against a Raiders defense that hadn’t allowed any fourth-quarter points in the season’s first three games.

That made all the difference in a 30-27 win Sunday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, where Kansas City left them as the lone remaining undefeated team in the AFC.

The Chiefs (4-0) remained undefeated through at least four games for the fifth time in Patrick Mahomes’ career (2018-20, 2024).

Kansas City, which has reached the Super Bowl in three of the previous four such seasons, and Las Vegas (3-1) were the only remaining undefeated teams in the AFC after Buffalo’s loss earlier Sunday, while San Francisco and Minnesota remain perfect in the NFC.

Kenneth Walker III broke his career-high for rushing yards for the second time this season, finishing with 22 carries for 177 yards and two touchdowns, while Patrick Mahomes finished 15 of 30 for 225 yards with two touchdowns — both to Tyquan Thornton, who was carted off with what appeared to be a serious ankle injury in the fourth quarter.

“That doesn’t look good, but he’s going to fly back with us, and we’ll get further evaluation later here,” Kansas City coach Andy Reid said.

The Chiefs lost wide receiver Rashee Rice to a hamstring injury in the fourth quarter, leaving General Manager Brett Veach with work to do to replenish the position group as the team enters a bye week.

Walker ignites comeback

Walker ripped off a 76-yard run on the final play of the third quarter, the longest run in the NFL so far this season.

It’s his second run of at least 60 yards already this season — including a 60-yard touchdown against Denver to open the season, the second-longest in the NFL entering Week 4 — as Walker continues to transform Kansas City’s offense.

“We had three tight ends in and they did a nice job sealing that area right there with the right tackle,” Reid said. “We were able to bust that thing out. He was patient with it and hit it.”

The Chiefs had been stuck in a rut with only 10 points in the game and 18 yards in the third quarter to that point, but the run sparked the comeback.

Walker, who won Super Bowl MVP with Seattle last season before signing a three-year deal with Kansas City in the offseason, leads the NFL with 537 yards rushing.

He burst onto the scene for a Chiefs team that lacked balance on offense in recent seasons with 173 yards and two touchdowns, one rushing and another receiving, in a season-opening dismantling of the Denver Broncos.

Walker backed that up with 117 yards rushing and 61 yards receiving in an overtime win against Indianapolis before authoring a two-touchdown game as Kansas City outlasted Miami last week.

He’s already scored six touchdowns for a Chiefs team whose running backs combined for nine touchdowns all of last season. In fact, the Chiefs have exactly nine rushing touchdowns from running backs in each of the last three seasons.

Chiefs don’t punish Kubiak

First-year Raiders coach Klint Kubiak made the Chiefs re-kick after a good punt return and promptly watched Matt Araiza run for a first down Sunday in the first quarter at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

On the opening drive of the second half, Kubiak took three points off the board after an illegal-formation penalty presented a fourth-and-2 dice roll. It backfired when George Karlaftis pressured Kirk Cousins into an incomplete checkdown short of the first down.

Both decisions could have been catastrophic for Las Vegas’ confidence in its new coach, but Kansas City failed to punish either decision.

The Chiefs’ opening drive ended four plays later after defensive tackle Khyris Tonga and running back Kenneth Walker III were stuffed on back-to-back short-yardage runs. More on that later.

Kansas City picked up a couple first downs on its opening drive in the third quarter, but the drive ultimately stalled and the Raiders were able to retain a 13-10 lead to that point in the game.

Ultimately, those three points proved crucial after Walker’s go-ahead touchdown provided a 23-19 lead.

The Chiefs failed on the two-point conversion try, but linebacker Jeffrey Bassa punched the ball from Drake Young’s grasp on the ensuing kickoff return and Jack Cochrane’s recovery set up a 22-yard TD run by Walker that provided the game-winning points.

Shuffling starters on offense, defense

L’Jarius Sneed started in place of Nohl Williams opposite rookie Mansoor Delane as the boundary cornerbacks, a curious development given the season’s first three games.

Veteran Kristian Fulton has allowed a 16.7 QB rating in coverage, Delane’s opponent QB rating is only 35.0 and Williams has allowed an 85.1 rating as the primary defender.

But Sneed has been targeted more than any other Chiefs corner and allowed a 111.7 QB rating. Opposing passers are 17 of 22 for 159 yards with a touchdown when throwing Sneed’s way.

Williams, who had played 97% of Kansas City’s defensive snaps in the first three games, still featured prominently on defense.

That wasn’t the case for an even more curious swap along the starting offensive line.

Kansas City is already without starting left tackle Josh Simmons, who is officially sidelined with a back injury.

The Chiefs swapped out Kingsley Suamataia for Mike Caliendo at left guard against the Raiders.

“As far as the Kingsley thing goes: Before you ask, that’s between Kingsley and I," Reid said. "But we’ll figure it out and down the road, we’ll be better as a team for it and Kingsley will be better for it.”

Suamataia, a former second-round pick from BYU, has graded out as a below-average guard against the run and pass so far this season. Still, Caliendo has primarily been a backup in his career.

Kansas City got stuffed twice on short-yardage runs on its first drive, a turnover on downs that gave Las Vegas a short field and led to a touchdown.

On the second drive, Walker got stuffed two more times — on second-and-1 early in the drive and second-and-goal from the 2-yard line — for no gain.

Late in the first half, the Chiefs settled for a game-tying 28-yard Harrison Butker field goal after a long Tyquan Thornton catch-and-run set up a first-and-goal at the Raiders’ 5-yard line.

‘Corndog’ strikes again

The Chiefs scored a touchdown in Super Bowl LVII on a play called “Corndog,” a route concept that outleverages the widest defensive back to the right side of the formation.

Kadarius Toney did the honors against the Eagles, and a year later, Mecole Hardman, Jr. snagged the game-winning touchdown in overtime with another version of “Corndog,” which Andy described as having a little extra mustard and ketchup.

“Corndog” struck again Sunday in Vegas, where Tyquan Thornton scored his first touchdown of the season — a 2-yard first-quarter grab.

Tight end Travis Kelce motioned across the formation to a three-receiver set. He ran a quick slant to the inside, while Thornton released into the flats underneath Jalen Royals, who ran a goal-line hitch that acted as a screen to create traffic for the Raiders’ secondary.

Thornton popped wide open for an easy touchdown.

Another Kelce milestone

Speaking of Kelce, he continues to burnish the superlatives for his eventual induction to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his native Ohio one day.

With his first catch Sunday, a 5-yard reception on the game’s opening drive, he moved past former Raiders great Tim Brown (1,094) on the all-time NFL list for career receptions.

Kelce finished with two catches for 15 yards, giving him 1,096 receptions and 13,248 yards in his 14-year NFL career.

He ranks third all time among tight ends in career receptions behind Tony Gonzalez (1,325) and Jason Witten (1,228). The only other players with more are Hall of Fame wide receivers Jerry Rice (1,549), Larry Fitzgerald (1,432), Marvin Harrison (1,102) and Cris Carter (1,101).

Gonzalez (15,127) is the only tight end in NFL history with more receiving yards than Kelce.

Injury report

Kansas City doesn’t exactly have a deep stable of wide receivers, so losing their most productive receivers won’t help the offense.

Rice left with a hamstring injury on the Chiefs’ second drive and didn’t return. He was originally listed as questionable, then downgraded to doubtful at halftime.

In the fourth quarter, Thornton left the game with an ankle injury after making a 55-yard catch that led to Kansas City’s go-ahead touchdown in the closing minutes.

Treydan Stukes, who was trailing Thornton on the deep shot, laid out to make the tackle as Thornton's left ankle got caught under his body.

Thornton, who had a career-high in receiving yards (438) last season after joining the Chiefs, had five catches for 111 yards and two scores before the injury. It was his first 100-yard game and first multi-touchdown game.

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