Chiefs Recover Botched Snap by Raiders, Clinch Playoff Berth With 19-17 Victory

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs have made a habit of winning games in the most improbable of ways. The way they beat the Raiders on Friday still had Patrick Mahomes and Co. shaking their heads in disbelief. The two-time MVP watched from the sideline as Las Vegas drove within range of a winning field goal with 15 seconds left, only to botch the snap on its final offensive play, allowing the Chiefs to escape with a 19-17 victory that also secured their 10th consecutive playoff berth — the second-longest streak in NFL history.“Obviously a big stop in a big moment that got us the win,” Mahomes said. The Raiders (2-10) had taken over at their own 8-yard line with just under two minutes to go, and quarterback Aidan O’Connell quickly moved them across midfield, eventually spiking the ball at the Kansas City 32 to stop the clock. Rather than try for the winning field goal — Daniel Carlson had missed three from 50-plus — the Raiders lined up to run a play, hoping to gain a few yards with a throw to the sideline before time expired. But amid the roar of Arrowhead Stadium, rookie center Jackson Powers-Johnson snapped the ball when O’Connell wasn’t expecting it, and it bounced off the QB’s shoulder. Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton pounced on it, and the recovery stood when a flag on the play turned out to be an illegal shift by the Raiders.