The teams first met in
1960 when the Chiefs were known as the Dallas Texans. The Texans defeated the Raiders 34–16 in the team's first game at
Oakland,[12][13][14] then the Raiders defeated the Texans 20–19 at
Dallas.[13][14]
The following year, in
1969, the Raiders beat the Chiefs twice in the regular season[15][16] and went on to win the AFL Western Conference title. The teams met in the 1969 AFL Championship Game at Oakland and the underdog Chiefs won 17–7.[15][16] The Chiefs participated in
Super Bowl IV a week later and defeated the NFL's
heavily favoredMinnesota Vikings.[15] It was not until
1976 that Oakland won their
first Super Bowl championship.[17]
In the first meeting between the teams during the
1970 NFL season—both teams' first in the newly merged NFL—the Chiefs held a 17–14 lead late in the fourth quarter and appeared ready to run out the clock. Chiefs quarterback Len Dawson rolled right and gained enough yardage for a first down, and as he fell to the ground, Raiders defensive end
Ben Davidson dove into Dawson with his helmet; in retaliation, Davidson was attacked by Chiefs wide receiver Otis Taylor.[1][18] After a bench-clearing brawl, Davidson and Taylor were ejected, and the penalties that were called nullified the first down under the rules at the time. Kansas City was forced to punt. The Raiders took advantage, as
George Blanda made a 48-yard field goal with 8 seconds left to secure a 17–17 tie. The tie proved to be costly for the Chiefs, as Oakland clinched their first AFC West championship with a 20–6 victory in Oakland in Week 13. Due to this incident, the NFL changed the rules so that Davidson's personal foul would have been enforced at the end of the play, and Taylor's penalty would have been assessed only after the Chiefs had been awarded a first down.
The Chiefs defeated the Raiders 42–10 in the
1975 season, prompting the Chiefs' live
horsemascotWarpaint to circle the field after each touchdown scored. After the game, Raiders coach
John Madden said "We couldn't beat the Chiefs, but we damn near killed their horse."[19]
The Raiders won two more Super Bowl titles in
1980[20] and
1983[21] while the Chiefs were considered to be one of the worst teams in the NFL. The Raiders won most of the games between the 1970s and 1980s.[22][23] Following their victory in Super Bowl IV, the Chiefs returned to the playoffs in
1971, but lost in double overtime to the
Miami Dolphins in the divisional round in the longest game in NFL history, the final game at Kansas City's Municipal Stadium. Following that loss, Kansas City did not return to the playoffs until 1986.[24]
In the final game of the
1999 season, the Chiefs and Raiders faced off at
Kansas City. A win for the Chiefs would put them in the playoffs. A game plagued by special teams mistakes for the Chiefs, including three attempted kickoffs that ended up out of bounds by kickoff specialist Jon Baker, helped keep the Raiders in the game and stop the Chiefs from sealing the victory. The game went into overtime and, helped by favorable field position after the third and final kickoff out of bounds, former Chief
Rich Gannon drove the Raiders into Chiefs territory, setting up the game-winning field goal and knocking the Chiefs out of the playoffs, their first win at Arrowhead since 1988.[25]
On October 21, 2007, the Chiefs defeated the Raiders for a record ninth straight victory. On November 25, 2007, the Raiders defeated the Chiefs in Arrowhead for Oakland's first victory over Kansas City since December 23, 2002.
On September 14, 2008, the Raiders defeated the Chiefs 23–8 for the second straight time in Kansas City. Rookie
Darren McFadden compiled 210 rushing yards and a touchdown.[26] On November 30, 2008, the Chiefs defeated the Raiders for the sixth straight time in Oakland.[27]
On September 20, 2009, the Raiders defeated the Chiefs 13–10, in Kansas City for the third straight time. The Chiefs became one of the few teams to lose to quarterback
JaMarcus Russell.[28]
On November 15, 2009, the Chiefs defeated the Raiders 16–10 in Oakland Coliseum for the Chiefs' seventh straight victory in Oakland.
On November 7, 2010, the Raiders defeated the Chiefs in OT 23–20 in a match-up that revived the Chiefs–Raiders rivalry. It marked the 99th time these teams have met in the regular season and 102nd overall. On January 2, 2011, the Raiders defeated the Chiefs in Kansas City for the fourth straight time, 31–10, to finish a sweep of the AFC West.
On October 3, 2011, a Raiders fan filed a lawsuit against the Chiefs and two unidentified Chiefs fans, claiming that security did nothing as he was beaten during a brawl at Kansas City in 2009.[29]
The Chiefs broke Oakland's six-game winning streak in Kansas City on October 13, 2013, when they defeated the Raiders, 24–7, in a game where Kansas City set a then world record for the loudest open-air venue at over 137 dB.[30]
On November 20, 2014, the Raiders snapped a 16-game losing streak in Oakland against the Chiefs while Kansas City was in a four-game winning streak the week after the Chiefs defeated the defending
Super Bowl champions, the
Seattle Seahawks. The loss ended up costing Kansas City a playoff berth.
In 2015, the Kansas City Chiefs swept the season series between these two teams.
In 2016, both teams were at the top of the AFC for the entire season, with Oakland securing their first winning season and first playoff appearance since 2002. The Chiefs beat Oakland twice, 26–10 in Oakland and in Kansas City 21–13. Both teams ended the regular season with a 12–4 record and with the series sweep, Kansas City won the AFC West and a first round bye while Oakland was relegated to Wild Card status and the fifth seed in the AFC playoffs.
The Chiefs and Raiders met for a Thursday Night match-up on October 19, 2017 in Oakland, with the Chiefs at a 5–1 record and the Raiders at a 2–4 record. The Raiders won the game 31–30 with a touchdown pass at the very end of the game, which followed two Chiefs defensive penalties, also including a scuffle between the two teams that led to Raiders running back
Marshawn Lynch getting ejected.[31] The game snapped a four-game losing streak for Oakland in the season, and also a five-game losing streak against the Chiefs in the rivalry.
In Week 5 of the
2020 season, the rivalry between the two teams was renewed when the 2-2 Raiders went to
Arrowhead Stadium and upset the undefeated Chiefs 40-32, snapping a 5-game losing streak against the Chiefs dating back to 2017. It was the Raiders’ first win in Arrowhead since 2012, with
Derek Carr passing for 347 yards and three touchdowns, while
Patrick Mahomes had 340 yards and two touchdowns, but had a costly third-quarter interception that led to a critical Raiders touchdown. It was Mahomes’ first loss to the Raiders, and first loss since losing to the
Tennessee Titans in Week 10 of the 2019 season.
On November 22, 2020, the two teams met in Las Vegas for the first time on
Sunday Night Football. With 1:07 left in the game, Derek Carr threw a touchdown pass to
Jason Witten to give the Raiders a 31-28 lead, but Patrick Mahomes lead a 75-yard drive culminating in a 23-yard touchdown pass to
Travis Kelce with 28 seconds left that gave the Chiefs a 35-31 win, officially renewing a spark in the rivalry between the two teams. After, the Chiefs went on to finish the season 14-2, losing to the
Buccaneers in
Super Bowl LV, while the Raiders, who were 6-3 leading up to this game, began a painful late-season collapse, as they would lose four of their last six games to end the season 8-8 and out of the playoffs.
On Christmas Day, the Raiders defense helped snap another 5-game losing streak against the Chiefs.
Season-by-season results
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Las Vegas Raiders Season-by-Season Results
AFL-NFL merger. Both teams placed in AFC West. Late in the game in Kansas City,
Ben Davidson and
Otis Taylor fight leads to a bench clearing brawl. Offsetting penalties took a first down away from the Chiefs, forcing them to punt and allowing the Raiders to kick a game-tying field goal.
Raiders win
Super Bowl XV. The game at Oakland sees starting Raider quarterback
Dan Pastorini suffer a broken leg while replacement
Jim Plunkett throws 5 interceptions.
Chiefs win 19 of 21 meetings dating back to 1989. Raiders win in Kansas City, the final game of the regular season, to keep the Chiefs out of the playoffs. Game in Kansas City also the last for Chiefs star linebacker
Derrick Thomas, who died 37 days later from injuries suffered in an automobile accident.
Wide receiver
Andre Rison played for the Chiefs before getting cut prior to the
2000 NFL season. He signed with Oakland later that year.
Running back
Marcus Allen played for the Raiders in
Los Angeles and led the Raiders to victory in
Super Bowl XVIII. Allen signed with the Chiefs for the
1993 season after a feud with Raider Managing General Partner
Al Davis became public. Allen later reportedly asked to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a member of the Chiefs, even though unlike the
National Baseball Hall of Fame, the Pro Football Hall of Fame doesn't induct players on a certain team. Allen did receive his Hall of Fame ring in a ceremony at halftime of a Chiefs game in 2003 at
Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
Backup quarterback
Tom Flores won a Super Bowl with the Chiefs in 1969, but never started in Kansas City. Flores became head coach of the Raiders 10 years later and led the team to two Super Bowl titles.
Former Chiefs head coach and defensive coordinator
Gunther Cunningham spent four years with the Los Angeles Raiders (1991–94) as the team's defensive coordinator. He joined the Chiefs in 1995.
Cornerback
Albert Lewis and running back Harvey Williams started their careers in Kansas City but were traded to the Raiders in 1994.
Quarterback
JaMarcus Russell and wide receiver
Dwayne Bowe hold many records while attending
Louisiana State University. In the
2007 NFL Draft, Russell would be drafted to the Raiders (#1 overall) and Bowe would be drafted to the Chiefs (#23 overall). Also, during the following draft (
2008 NFL Draft), LSU's defensive tackle
Glenn Dorsey would also be drafted to the Chiefs (#5 overall). Even in 2009, LSU's defensive end
Tyson Jackson would be drafted by the Chiefs in the first round.[4]
Defensive tackleTerdell Sands was drafted by the Chiefs in 2001. After a few seasons, Sands signed with the Raiders to become their starter on the defensive line.
In 1962, the Chiefs traded their original quarterback
Cotton Davidson to the Raiders for the first overall selection in the 1963 AFL Draft, which was used by the Chiefs to select future Hall of Famer
Buck Buchanan.
Center
Rodney Hudson was drafted by the Chiefs, and played there from 2011 to 2014, before signing with the Raiders in 2015.
^LaMarre, Tom (13 November 2021).
"Raiders vs. Chiefs amazing history". Sports Illustrated Las Vegas Raiders News, Analysis and More. Retrieved 2022-07-14.