The Las Vegas Raiders didn’t just take their first loss of the season against the Kansas City Chiefs. They also handed out a Week 5 reminder of how thin the margin can be when one mistake flips everything.
Even in defeat, the Raiders still looked like a team worth tracking in the AFC West race. But for the 2026 free-agent class, Sunday produced a mix of one clear bright spot, one quiet disappearance, and one mistake that changed the shape of the game.
Spencer Burford was the offensive line’s best story.
After a shaky opening stretch in pass protection, the left guard steadied himself against Kansas City. Pro Football Focus had him charged with 13 pressures from Weeks 1 through 3, but he gave up only one in the Chiefs game. Kirk Cousins wasn’t sacked, though PFF still logged pressure on 21 of his dropbacks, with most of it coming from the left side, where Kolton Miller had six pressures, and the right interior, where Caleb Rogers filled in for Jackson Powers-Johnson and was responsible for five.
Still, Burford stood out. Outside of center Tyler Linderbaum, you could make the case he had the strongest outing of any Raiders lineman on Sunday.
Kwity Paye, on the other hand, had one of those games edge rushers want to forget fast.
The Chiefs gave him a chance to make noise, but he never did. In 35 defensive snaps, Paye didn’t register a tackle or a pressure, and an undrafted free agent rookie completely erased him.
That’s a tough look for a player who entered the league out of Michigan in 2021 as an average pass-rusher with enough versatility to line up in different spots and help against the run. None of that showed up here.
The run defense had bigger problems, too. Kenneth Walker III piled up a career-high 177 yards and two touchdowns, and Paye didn’t provide much resistance.
He hasn’t had a sack since the opener, and his last quarterback hit came in Week 2. The Raiders need more from him on both run downs and passing downs.
Then there was Dareke Young, whose kickoff-return fumble became the swing play.
Late in the fourth quarter, with Las Vegas down four and trying to answer Walker III’s first touchdown, Young coughed it up deep in Raiders territory. Kansas City turned the short field into another touchdown run, and the whole feel of the finish changed. Instead of letting the clock work for them on a possible go-ahead drive, the Raiders were suddenly forced to hurry while trailing by 11 with three minutes left.
Games don’t usually come down to one snap, but sometimes they absolutely do. That was the case here.
Young, a fifth-year veteran who handled kick returns for the Seattle Seahawks last season, had not fumbled before Sunday. Because of that, head coach Klint Kubiak probably won’t make any sweeping changes at the position unless this turns into a pattern. Even so, it was a costly lapse at the worst possible time.
In Other News...
Maxx Crosby Just Took The Mahomes Rivalry Somewhere Personal
Maxx Crosby has never been shy about the Patrick Mahomes matchup, but he took the familiar Raiders-Chiefs edge in a more personal direction during an episode of his podcast, The Rush. Crosby talked about the ongoing physical and psychological chess match he and Mahomes seem to play every time they line up across from each other, a rivalry built as much on stubbornness and feel as it is on pass-rush production.
Crosby also pointed to one of the stranger details of the matchup, saying Mahomes makes unusual vocal sounds when he gets tackled. It is the kind of observation that only comes from repeated collisions and plenty of time spent trying to get inside an opponents head, and Crosby has done plenty of both, piling up 6.5 sacks and 49 quarterback pressures against Mahomes in his career. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Catch A Break As Patriots Defense Enters Week 5 Shorthanded
The Raiders Week 5 prep got a little more interesting when the Patriots opened the week with a long injury list on defense, including eight players who were absent from the first practice. For a Las Vegas offense looking to build momentum, the timing matters, because New Englands depth chart is already being tested before the game even gets into full swing.
Christian Gonzalez and Christian Barmore were among the most notable names, with Gonzalez expected to remain out and Barmore possibly limited to some activities. The Patriots do have a few players on injured reserve who are eligible to return, but coach Mike Vrabel said it does not sound like any of them are likely to be activated this week, leaving the Raiders with a clearer path to attack a defense that may be piecing things together on the fly. [Read more 🡒]
Maxx Crosby Just Added A Wild New Detail To His Mahomes Feud
Maxx Crosbys matchup with Patrick Mahomes has long been one of the NFLs most physical quarterback-pass rusher showdowns, and now Crosby is adding a little more color to it. On an episode of his podcast, The Rush, the Raiders edge rusher talked about the back-and-forth hes had with Mahomes over the years, underscoring how much of their rivalry has played out in the trenches and after the whistle of a hit.
Crosby said Mahomes makes unusual sounds when he gets tackled and noted the Chiefs quarterbacks tendency to look back at him after taking contact. Its the kind of detail that fits a rivalry built on repeated collisions, and Crosby has more than his share of them, with 6.5 sacks and 49 quarterback pressures against Mahomes in his career. [Read more 🡒]