KC Chiefs Week 13 Winners and Losers: Win over Las Vegas Raiders

It wasn’t pretty, but how many wins did the Kansas City Chiefs have this season?

Andy Reid’s team picked up another win on Friday, this time fending off a comeback attempt by the Las Vegas Raiders for a 19-17 victory in Week 13. It took nearly every effort on both sides of the ball — and special teams — to score enough points to keep the Las Vegas offense from taking a late lead. However, Kansas City notched its 11th win of the year and remains atop the AFC playoff standings.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the Chiefs’ biggest winners and losers in Week 13 of the regular season.

Friday marked exactly two months since Chris Jones last won the award for the Chiefs. In Week 13 against the Raiders, he had two of them for good measure. Both of his big plays came on third down: the first was a third-and-goal takedown to force a field goal, and the next was a sack to force a punt. Jones rushed both of his sacks from the edge, which is always an intriguing option for him when matchups go well. The game’s best pass rusher was back to business as usual on Friday, finding winning opportunities all over the defensive line.

As it has all season, Kansas City’s play at left tackle left a lot of questions this week. Wanya Morris struggled mightily on Friday, committing a pair of ugly false-start penalties and also getting knocked down a few times by K’Lavon Chesson. Like Jones, Morris also impacted the game at third, but did so in a negative manner. Two specific instances where he was torched in pass protection led to Patrick Mahomes being sacked and attempting a field goal or punt. Reed even benched Morris late in the game in favor of left tackle Joe Thuney, later explaining why he made the move. Morris had to forget this game in what would be a memorable season for him.

The disclaimer for praising both of the Chiefs’ leading tight ends noted that they opened up one of the team’s second-half offenses with back-to-back drops. With that in mind, it’s worth giving credit to Travis Kelce and Noah Gray for their work in Week 13. Kelce led all Kansas City pass catchers with seven receptions on Friday, adding 68 yards to his year total. Gray, not too far behind, had his third straight game with at least four targets and four receptions. With Peyton Hendershot, Jared Wiley and Jody Fortson on the injured reserve list, the Chiefs are counting on their best in a tough situation. It worked against the Raiders.

Just over a month ago, the Chiefs gave Nazy Johnson a vote of confidence as the man ready to replace Jalen Watson as the club’s No. 2 starting quarterback. Before November even came to an end, the third-year player found himself benched in a game and had some bad looks on film. On Friday, in particular, he was burned by Jakobi Meyers for a 43-yard gain early in the second quarter. This led to Joshua Williams being benched and Johnson being replaced by Joshua Williams. Kansas City desperately misses Watson, and its only hope now is that Williams can be a little more consistent than Johnson.

After signing a multi-year deal in the offseason, Drew Tranquill’s play hasn’t done him justice at linebacker. On Friday, however, he looked his best in weeks. The veteran cornerback seemed much more fluid in coverage, putting together a strong play on second-and-16 on the first standout drive. He also matched Raiders tight end Brock Bowers as best he could on what was otherwise a great day for the rookie. Tranquill stepped up in Week 13 and resembled his 2023 self, which is good news for the Chiefs if he can parlay that into more frequent success.

After getting hot out of the gate this season, Jawaan Taylor’s pass protection on the right side of the offensive line has weakened. That includes the difference between the first Chiefs-Raiders game of the year and Friday’s game. On top of that, the veteran tackle was called for a pair of penalties for formation violations, bringing a flavor of last season. The former turned second-and-15 into second-and-20, and the latter contributed in part to him losing his reputation and Patrick Mahomes getting lost trying to get out. Taylor can finish this game and get back on track, but the penalties associated with his setup are at least a little concerning.

Read more: Four takeaways from the Kansas City Chiefs’ 19-17 win over the Las Vegas Raiders