Klint Kubiak‘s guarantee aged like milk. The Las Vegas Raiders coach’s pregame confidence that they would knock off the Kansas City Chiefs came up empty as Patrick Mahomes stayed undefeated at Allegiant Stadium. Mahomes finished with 225 passing yards and two touchdowns, while Kenneth Walker III went absolutely nuclear on the ground, racking up 177 rushing yards and two scores to power the Chiefs to a wild 30-27 win over the Raiders on Sunday.
And wild is putting it mildly. This was a true heavyweight slugfest, with the lead changing hands throughout the afternoon. Kansas City finally grabbed its first two-score lead late in the fourth quarter, capitalizing immediately after a Raiders turnover. Las Vegas refused to go quietly, cutting the deficit to three with less than two minutes left, but the comeback bid ultimately fell short.
Still, while Kubiak couldn’t deliver on his prediction, he did give the NFL a blueprint for making Walker work for every inch.
Klint Kubiak Showed How Slow Down Kenneth Walker
The Raiders came out with one clear mission: don’t let Walker get downhill. Las Vegas crowded the box, swarmed the line of scrimmage, and consistently got multiple hats around Walker. The goal was simple—make Walker earn every yard instead of letting him rip off the explosive runs that can flip a game in an instant.
And for most of the afternoon, it worked. Walker wasn’t consistently gashing the Raiders for five, six, or seven yards a pop. Las Vegas was winning at the point of attack, clogging running lanes and forcing the Chiefs’ star back to fight through traffic just to keep the chains moving.
But here’s the problem with trying to contain Walker: you can play 50 snaps perfectly, and he can wreck your entire game plan on one. With 3:21 remaining, Walker finally found daylight when it mattered most. His two-yard touchdown plunge put the Chiefs (4-0) ahead for good at 23-19, capping a drive sparked by Tyquan Thornton’s explosive 55-yard reception on the previous play.
Walker’s touchdown was ultimately the dagger, but the Raiders’ defensive approach deserves some credit. They didn’t simply “fail” because Walker finished with a monster stat line. They made him grind for it and repeatedly forced Kansas City into tough runs between the tackles.
The Raiders even stuffed Walker on fourth down early in the game, with Adam Butler and Maxx Crosby meeting him at the line of scrimmage to stonewall the Chiefs’ back and force a turnover on downs.
And Kubiak had a pretty good reason for knowing exactly what he was dealing with.
He spent the 2025 season as Seattle’s offensive coordinator, working directly with Walker and seeing firsthand what makes him such a nightmare for opposing defenses. The Raiders identified Walker as one of their biggest problems entering Week 4, and Kubiak openly acknowledged that the Chiefs’ running back was playing like one of the NFL’s elite backs.
The game plan was there. The execution was there. But Walker did what Walker does.
Eventually, the dam broke. And when it did, KW9 delivered the plays that swung the game.
Have The Raiders Solved Kenneth Walker?
The Raiders didn’t necessarily lose because they couldn’t contain Walker. They lost because they couldn’t contain him forever. He touched the ball 22 times and finished with a ridiculous 177 rushing yards and two touchdowns. But that stat line needs some context.
His first 20 carries? 101 yards. Then came the two explosive runs that completely flipped the script.
Las Vegas had a plan for Walker. Kubiak knew him better than most after working with Walker during his time as Seattle’s offensive coordinator in 2025. The Raiders crowded the box, attacked the line of scrimmage and repeatedly forced Walker to earn every inch.
And for most of the game, it worked. But Kansas City never blinked.
Andy Reid and Matt Nagy kept feeding Walker instead of abandoning the run when the Raiders’ front initially won the battle. That commitment mattered. Every carry forced Las Vegas to keep playing downhill, keep respecting the run, and keep loading up against the Chiefs’ ground game.
Eventually, the Kansas City finally created a clean crease. And Walker did what he does best, he hit the accelerator and turned daylight into 76 yards.
That’s the difference with a back like Walker. A defense can bottle him up for 20 carries, but all it takes is one crease, one missed gap, and one second of hesitation. Suddenly, a game plan that looked nearly flawless is on life support.
The Chiefs finished with 189 rushing yards on 26 carries, averaging a ridiculous 7.3 yards per attempt. Walker accounted for 177 of them. So, no, this wasn’t necessarily a case of Kubiak getting his defensive game plan wrong. Quite the opposite. The Raiders largely executed the blueprint.
They met Walker at the line. They clogged his running lanes. They made him work. But they couldn’t do it for all 22 carries.
And that’s where Kansas City’s offensive evolution showed up. The Chiefs stayed patient, trusted their run game and kept putting the ball in Walker’s hands until the matchup finally cracked.
For a Raiders team that came into the game with plenty of confidence—and a first-year head coach willing to back his squad at halftime—there’s no shame in the loss. Las Vegas just ran into an undefeated Chiefs team with Mahomes dealing and Walker playing like one of the NFL’s most dangerous backs.
The Raiders didn’t get run over from the opening whistle.
They got hit by KW9 when it mattered most.
Main Image: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
