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Upon Further Review

10 Quick Facts Following the Chiefs Week 4 Win Over Las Vegas | Upon Further Review

The Chiefs moved to 4-0 on Sunday

The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Las Vegas Raiders, 30-27, on Sunday to remain undefeated on the season.

Here are some quick notes from the win.

1. Tailback Ken Walker had yet another game to remember.

Walker's historic start to the season just keeps getting better and better.

The veteran tailback rushed for a career-best 177 yards on Sunday, tallying 149 of those yards after contact (according to Next Gen Stats). Walker leads the league in total rushing yards (537), tallying the most rushing yards through Week 4 for any player since 2010, and ranks second in yards-after-contact (395) this season.

Walker has now recorded 175+ scrimmage yards in three of his four games this year, becoming just the fourth player in league history to hit that mark three times before Week 5. The only other players in league history to do so were Christian McCaffrey (2019), Billy Sims (1980) and Jim Brown (1963).

2. The Chiefs already have six rushing plays of 20+ yards this year.

Walker's efforts have helped to completely flip the Chiefs' performance in a certain category when compared to last season: runs of 20+ yards.

Kansas City recorded just three runs of 20+ yards last year, which ranked last in the NFL. This season, however, through just four games, the Chiefs lead the NFL with six such runs.

Walker is responsible for all six plays, rushing for 229 yards on those snaps.

Additionally, the Chiefs' 14 total plays (rushing or passing) of 25+ yards this season lead the NFL.

3. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw for multiple touchdowns for the fourth time this season.

Mahomes threw two touchdown passes on Sunday, extending his streak to begin the season with multiple scoring throws to four.

His 84 such games since the beginning of the 2018 season lead the NFL by nine games, and they're the most in league history for any player through 130 career games.

Mahomes also recorded the 99th regular-season win of his brilliant career on Sunday, matching Tom Brady for the most victories through 130 regular-season starts in league history.

4. Mahomes moved to 38-8 vs. AFC West opponents for his career.

Mahomes guided the Chiefs to a victory over an AFC West opponent for the 38th time in his career on Sunday, doing so in just 46 tries. Kansas City's .760 winning percentage against divisional opponents since 2018 marks the best of any team in the NFL.

Mahomes has never lost at Allegiant Stadium, posting a 7-0 record for his career (including Super Bowl LVIII).

5. Wide receiver Tyquan Thornton recorded the first 100-yard game of his career before leaving with an ankle injury.

Thornton put together the top statistical performance of his career on Sunday before leaving the game with a devastating ankle injury.

The veteran receiver hauled in five catches for a career-best 111 yards and two touchdowns in the game, tallying grabs of 42 and 55 yards. The latter catch, which led to his injury, set up the Chiefs' go-ahead touchdown in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter.

Those two grabs added to Kansas City's league-most six receptions of 40+ yards this year.

6. The Chiefs went from trailing by one to leading by 11 in a span of 19 seconds.

Kansas City was facing a third down on its side of the field while trailing by one point when Patrick Mahomes found Tyquan Thornton for the aforementioned 55-yard completion down to the Raiders' 2-yard line. Ken Walker then rushed in for a 2-yard score, putting the Chiefs in front.

And Kansas City wasn't done, either.

On the ensuing kickoff, linebacker Jeffrey Bassa punched the ball loose from Raiders' return man Dareke Young, and fellow linebacker Jack Cochrane fell on it. Walker was back in the end zone one snap later – this time on a 22-yard touchdown run – and in the blink of an eye, the Chiefs owned a double-digit lead.

7. Edge-rusher George Karlaftis racked up 11 pressures on Sunday.

The Chiefs didn't record a sack on Sunday, but the pass-rush still provided plenty of pressure on Raiders' quarterback Kirk Cousins.

Kansas City pressured Cousins on 40.4% of his dropbacks throughout the game, and on those snaps, Cousins completed just 8-of-21 attempts. Karlaftis led the way in that category, recording a team-leading 11 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. That total marked the most for any player in a single game this season.

Rookie edge-rusher R Mason Thomas was active, too, tallying five pressures according to PFF's metrics. The folks at True Media were even more impressed with Thomas, giving him eight pressures on the day.

8. Safety Xavier Nwankpa made the most of his one defensive snap.

Nwankpa, who played just one defensive snap on Sunday, certainly made the most of his brief opportunity.

The rookie safety, who joined the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in the spring, picked off Kirk Cousins on the final defensive play of the game, sealing the victory for Kansas City. It's also worth mentioning that the play was made possible due to a relentless pressure by George Karlaftis.

The Raiders, who entered the game with the top turnover margin in the NFL (+5) and the most takeaways in the league (with 9), lost the turnover battle by a mark of 2-0 on Sunday.

9. Punter Matt Araiza teamed up with the coverage team to pin the Raiders at the 1-yard line late in the game.

Las Vegas had considerable momentum when Kansas City – up just three points – ran the punt team on the field with one minute and 26 seconds remaining in the game.

Fortunately for the Chiefs, the trio of Matt Araiza, tailback Emmett Johnson and Xavier Nwankpa combined for perhaps Kansas City's top special teams play of the year. Araiza dropped the punt inside the 5-yard line before Johnson and Nwankpa teamed up to down the ball at the 1-yard line, providing Las Vegas with a lofty challenge it couldn't overcome.

In a game that saw plenty of fireworks in the final five minutes of action, it was the special teams unit that delivered one of the deciding blows.

10. It all helped the Chiefs remain as the last unbeaten team in the AFC.

Kansas City is 4-0 to begin the year for the fifth time under Patrick Mahomes, and for the eighth time under Head Coach Andy Reid.

Mahomes joined Peyton Manning (7) and Tom Brady (6) as the only other quarterbacks in league history with four or more 4-0 starts, while Reid joined George Halas (12), Don Shula (8) and Tom Landry (8) as the only head coaches with eight or more 4-0 starts.

This year's 4-0 run to begin the year has Kansas City atop the AFC as the lone undefeated team remaining in the conference, and now with an opportunity to rest up over the bye week, the Chiefs will aim to keep things rolling when the Chargers come to town in Week 6.

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