I have given the Raiders defensive coaches a hard time in recent years for not making adjustments, so it’s only fair that I give them credit for doing something new that had an impact on their win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Thursday night, well before all the dramatic penalties and do-over touchdowns, the Raiders found some answers for Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Kelce had 101 receiving yards in the teams’ final meeting last year, and the Chiefs had beaten the Raiders five straight times and defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. had had enough.
So the Raiders had outside linebacker Bruce Irvin seek out and chip — a polite way of saying smash into — Kelce for most of the game.