Zamir White leads Las Vegas Raiders past Kansas City Chiefs،
Zamir White, making his second straight start in place of injured All-Pro running back Josh Jacobs, promised his Las Vegas Raiders offensive linemen that he would buy them each a pair of Nike Jordans if he passed the 100 meters on the ground Monday.
White had only rushed for more than 28 yards in a game once in his brief career, so this seemed like a safe bet.
Then he rumbled for 145 yards on 22 carries, and his 43-yarder burst down the right side of Arrowhead Stadium with 2:35 left, which iced the Raiders' 20-14 upset win over the Kansas City Chiefs .
“These are the moments you dream of and with my offensive line and my teammates, anything is possible,” White said. “I should just go out there and trust them guys over there.”
With Raiders rookie quarterback Aidan O'Connell failing to complete a pass after the first quarter, he went a combined 0 for 10 in quarters 2 through 4 and had a highest passer rating career low of 50.3, while the Raiders had just 48 net passes. yards – Las Vegas also had to trust its defense.
The faith was justified because, in seven seconds in the second quarter, the defense scored two touchdowns – an 8-yard scoop by Bilal Nichols and a score on a botched Isiah Pacheco-Patrick Mahomes exchange and fumble, as well as a 33. -yard pick-six by Jack Jones off Mahomes. And the Raiders (7-8) not only denied the Chiefs (9-6) a chance to clinch the AFC West, but also kept their faint playoff hopes alive while further bolstering the interim coach's claim Antonio Pierce to get the full-time position.
Remember, the Raiders were coming off a 63-21 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers, four days after a historic 3-0 home loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
Not that a playoff bid is necessarily on the Raiders' minds in Middle America.
“It’s a huge win,” said Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby, whose defender Malcolm Koonce sacked Mahomes three times and was pressured seven times. “Back-to-back divisional wins. We're playing good football at the moment, so we've got to keep improving.
“It's amazing. Every time we come here, especially at Arrowhead, we know we're going to have to fight and claw. That's what everyone has done here, and I'm so proud of everyone. involved. It's a beautiful day.
It was just Crosby's second win in 10 tries against the Chiefs since entering the NFL in 2019.
The defense and the running game both travel, Pierce said, referring to the traditional building blocks of what works when teams are on the road.
As such, it was an old-fashioned performance for the Raiders, who held the normally potent Chiefs offense to fewer than 18 yards in the first quarter and milked the clock in the fourth quarter.
“We talked about it all week,” Pierce said. “Bad intentions. Violence. Physical. Pain. Enough is enough. I think it was posted right there.”
White, meanwhile, recorded the third-highest total in franchise history against the Chiefs, behind Darren McFadden's 164 yards rushing in September 2008 and the 154 Jacobs had last October.
“I'm happy for him because at the beginning of the season people were talking about him and saying he was a useless draft pick and stuff like that,” Raiders right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor said of White.
“He takes it personally, and going against one of the best defenses in the league and putting up 140, it solidifies his commitment to this game and this team and how great he wants to be.”
In his two starts, White totaled 214 yards on 39 carries, perhaps giving the Raiders more to chew on this offseason with Jacobs set to become a free agent.
White, a fourth-round pick out of Georgia last year, is focused on the here and now – on and off the field.
“You have to be patient,” he said. “You just have to trust your linemen and let them block for you.”
This way, White can happily hand out more shoes while leading the Raiders to rivalry victories.
“It’s part of football here,” Pierce said. “When you can hammer the rock and take three knees [to end] the game. Best football formation? Victory training.
