What were the Raiders thinking on Monday

Through four weeks of the NFL season, the AFC West has been the league's most hectic division. Monday was just another footnote in the craziness as the Raiders and Chiefs put on an absolute dog fight that was littered with controversy. The two rivals combined for almost 750 total yards, going back and forth as Patrick Mahomes fed Travis Kelce for four touchdowns and Derek Carr slung it to Davante Adams for two touchdowns. Despite a hot start from Las Vegas, who scored 17 unanswered points to open the matchup, Kansas City finished on top, sealing a 30-29 victory that keeps the Chiefs atop of the AFC West at 4-1, while dropping Josh McDaniels' squad to 1-4 on the year.

The game wasn’t short of its controversial moments. Carr hit Adams on a deep TD to pull within one point in the fourth quarter. But McDaniels opted to go for two rather than tie the game at 30, and the Chiefs defense held firm, stuffing Josh Jacobs at the goal line. Jacobs had a career day rushing for 154 yards. McDaniels two-point conversion was largely scrutinized. However, the Raiders defense still gave them a shot to win. The Raiders were driving down the field to win with 51 seconds left on the clock. Carr found Adams for a big gain down the sideline. The refs claimed that Adams didn’t have possession of the ball when he was trying to keep his feet inbounds which forced a Raiders fourth and one that they didn’t convert.

The controversial calls were unfortunately a story for both teams. Chiefs DT Chris Jones was called for a roughing the passer strip fumble on Carr. The referee claimed Jones put all his weight on the quarterback forcing the penalty. Raiders were also a victim of a controversial call after the Chiefs missed a FG Raiders was called for a five-yard defensive holding penalty which led to a go-ahead touchdown.

This was a big win for the Chiefs who will face arguably their toughest opponent yet next week when they host the Buffalo Bills. Josh Allen is playing at an elite level and continues to be a favorite for the league MVP. The Bills are coming off a dominant 38-3 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in which Allen had an incredible 424 total yards with four touchdowns, and he did not even play the entire game.

The Raiders will get a much-needed break after Monday night's game. The Raiders will face the Houston Texans on Oct. 23. Heading into Week 6, the Texans (1-3-1).