Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco (10) is stopped by Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Malcolm Koonce (51) and defensive tackle Bilal Nichols, right, while getting a push by teammate Wanya Morris (64) during the second half of an NFL football game Monday, Dec. 25, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Las Vegas got a pair of defensive touchdowns for the second straight week, including a pick-6 off the struggling Patrick Mahomes, and the resurgent Raiders held off the sloppy Kansas City Chiefs 20-14 on Monday to keep their slim post-season hopes alive.
Big defensive tackle Bilal Nichols returned a fumble eight yards for a touchdown, and Jack Jones took an interception 33 yards for another score seven seconds later, helping the Raiders (7-8) snap a six-game losing streak to the Chiefs. The Raiders have five defensive TDs this season, their most since 2005.
Kansas City (9-6) squandered an opportunity to clinch the AFC West for the eighth consecutive year with one of their worst performances of the Mahomes era.
The Chiefs still had a chance after Mahomes hit Justin Watson for a touchdown with 2:42 to go. But on the ensuing possession, the Raiders’ Zamir White got loose for a 43-yard gain, picking up a first down that allowed them to run out the clock.
Mahomes finished 27 of 44 for 235 yards and an interception.
Aidan O’Connell was 9-of-21 for 62 yards, never completing a pass after the first quarter, while White had 145 yards on the ground. Malcolm Koonce had three sacks for the Raiders.
Elsewhere in the NFL on Christmas Monday:
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EAGLES 33 GIANTS 25
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Jalen Hurts scored on the “tush push” that gave him the NFL record for most rushing scores by a quarterback in a season, threw for a touchdown, and Philadelphia (11-4) snapped a three-game losing streak with a win over New York.
Adoree’ Jackson gave the Giants (5-10) a spark when he returned an interception 76 yards for a major and Saquon Barkley converted a two-point conversion that made it 20-18 late in the third quarter.
But the Eagles put it away in the fourth on D’Andre Swift’s five-yard touchdown run and a pair of field goals by Jake Elliott.
New York’s Tyrod Taylor connected with Darius Slayton for a 69-yard score late in the fourth that made it 30-25. Taylor was picked off in the end zone on the final play of the game.
Hurts scored his 15th rushing TD of the season on a one-yard “tush push” early in the first quarter that gave him the most for a QB in a season in NFL history. Carolina’s Cam Newton held the record with 14 in 2011.
Hurts threw a 36-yard TD pass to DeVonta Smith for a 17-3 lead that gave him 35 total touchdowns this season, tying the team’s season record.
YARDSTICKS: Later Monday the San Francisco 49ers host the Baltimore Ravens in a battle of 11-3 teams.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
