The Kansas City Chiefs will renew one of the great rivalries in all of sports on Sunday as they take on the Las Vegas Raiders.
Here are five things to keep in mind heading into game day.
1. Here's a look at the final injury report for both teams.
The Chiefs will be without offensive tackle Josh Simmons (back) on Sunday, but safety Chamarri Conner (knee) appears set to make his season debut after missing the previous three weeks.
As for the Raiders, they'll be without starting right guard Jackson Powers-Johnson (groin) for Sunday's game.
2. Can the Chiefs' balanced offensive attack keep Las Vegas' pass-rush at bay?
A key behind Las Vegas' strong start to the season has been its pass-rush, which has generated 10 sacks (the fourth-most in the league) and the second-highest pressure rate (36.3%) in the NFL.
Notably, the Raiders have found significant success without blitzing, doing so on just 19.5% of snaps. Edge-rusher Maxx Crosby (predictably) has led the way in that effort, tallying 17 pressures, but fellow edge-rushers Malcolm Koonce (11 pressures) and Kwity Paye (9 pressures) are also off to strong starts.
So, an obvious priority for Kansas City on Sunday revolves around preventing that pass-rush from wrecking the game, and the balance Kansas City has demonstrated offensively thus far certainly has the potential to do that.
Kansas City employs the league's leading rusher through three weeks in tailback Ken Walker, whose 41 broken tackles lead the NFL and rank as the most forced missed tackles through three games in the Next Gen Stats Era (by 11 tackles). Walker has forced at least 12 missed tackles in each of Kansas City's three games, and understandably, his presence has led to the top play-action attack in the NFL.
In fact, a year after recording just 396 passing yards on play-action in 2025 (the fewest in the NFL), Kansas City already has 312 passing yards on play-action through just three games this season, recording the highest tally in the league.
Specifically, quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed 11-of-12 passes for 183 yards and a touchdown while using play-action against Miami. Eight of those completions took place on under center, play-action throws as Mahomes recorded his most attempts, completions and passing yards on under-center, play-action passing plays during a single game in his career.
In terms of the overall passing game, Kansas City ranks sixth in the NFL with an average of 263 passing yards-per-game, and Mahomes couldn't be off to a better start. The veteran quarterback has tallied his most passing yards (812) and passes of 25+ yards (8) while posting his highest passer rating (108.9) through three games since the 2022 season. His average yards-per-attempt of 8.29, meanwhile, marks his best since the 2021 campaign.
Kansas City enters Sunday's game with the No. 2 total offense in the league (at 416.3 yards-per-game), and its ability to once again strike a balance between the running game, a play-action component and the passing attack will be critical as the Chiefs aim to mitigate Las Vegas' pass-rush.
3. Kansas City has to find a way to slow down tight end Brock Bowers.
The Raiders welcomed back their top offensive weapon last week as tight end Brock Bowers made his season debut, and after missing the Raiders' first two games due to a knee injury, Bowers seemed to pick right back up where he left off.
The former first-round pick hauled in a team-leading 10 catches for 116 yards and a touchdown last week, drawing 14 targets from quarterback Kirk Cousins. Bowers' return also allowed the Raiders to utilize "12 personnel," which means two tight ends and one running back in the offensive formation, on a season-high 52% of their offensive plays. Las Vegas racked up 187 yards on those snaps, and Kansas City will need to be ready for a heavy dose of it on Sunday.
4. Las Vegas leads the NFL with nine takeaways this season.
Another reason behind the Raiders' 3-0 start this year has been an opportunistic defense that has provided the offense with favorable field position.
Las Vegas leads the NFL in total takeaways (9) and turnover margin (+5) through three games, and as a result, the Raiders have scored 23 points – about a quarter of their overall point total – and own the league-best's average starting field position (their own 39.9 yard-line).
Last week, for example, the Saints had a two-score lead late in the third quarter before the Raiders forced four takeaways in the fourth quarter.
Ball security is always important, but as this year has shown so far, it's especially critical against the Raiders.
5. There's nothing quite like "Raider Week."
The Chiefs and Raiders have engaged in plenty of meaningful games over the years, notably going head-to-head in 2016 (at Arrowhead) and in 2021 (at Allegiant Stadium) with first place in the AFC West on the line.
This game, however, is particularly unique because of the records. Remarkably, this is the latest into the season that the Chiefs and Raiders will play one another when each has an undefeated record. The two teams met on three previous occasions when each had a 2-0 record, doing so most recently in 1995, but a game like this has never occurred in the history of the rivalry.
It's also just the sixth meeting between 3-0 or better teams in the last 10 seasons, and for what it's worth, the road team has won four of the five previous meetings.
Kansas City will try to keep that trend going on Sunday as the Chiefs and Raiders renew one of the great rivalries in all of sports.
