Kenneth Walker III ran for 177 yards and scored twice in the fourth quarter Sunday, and the Kansas City Chiefs held off the Las Vegas Raiders 30-27 to stay perfect and hand their AFC West rival its first loss of the season.
The Chiefs (4-0) joined the San Francisco 49ers and Minnesota Vikings as the NFL’s only unbeaten teams after Sunday’s Week 4 games. Las Vegas, one of the league’s early-season surprises at 3-0, fell to 3-1.
The Raiders led 13-10 entering the fourth quarter at Allegiant Stadium. Walker swung the game with a 76-yard run at the end of the third quarter, and two plays later Patrick Mahomes found Tyquan Thornton for an 8-yard touchdown and Kansas City’s first lead, The Associated Press reported.
A wild finish in Las Vegas
Matt Gay kicked field goals of 44 and 48 yards to put Las Vegas back in front 19-17 with 4:53 left. Thornton answered with a 55-yard catch that set up Walker’s 2-yard scoring run with 3:21 to play. The Raiders fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Walker scored again moments later on a 22-yard run.
Kirk Cousins pulled the Raiders within three on a 20-yard touchdown pass to tight end Brock Bowers and a two-point conversion with 1:46 left. Kansas City recovered an onside kick, and the Raiders’ last chance ended when safety Xavier Nwankpa intercepted Cousins near midfield in the final seconds.
Mahomes threw for 225 yards and two touchdowns. “It’s not always going to be pretty,” he said of the back-and-forth game. Thornton finished with 111 yards and two touchdowns on five catches before he was carted off with a left ankle injury, which NFL Network reported was a dislocation. Receiver Rashee Rice exited in the opening quarter with a hamstring injury.
Cousins threw for 365 yards with two touchdown passes and one interception. Bowers, playing through an illness, finished with six receptions for 86 yards. The Raiders managed just 72 rushing yards.
49ers and Vikings keep winning
San Francisco scored just three points on its first seven possessions against the Denver Broncos, then pulled away with three consecutive touchdown drives after halftime in a 24-14 win. Brock Purdy threw scoring passes to Deebo Samuel and George Kittle, whose 56-yard catch-and-run on a screen with 2:15 left put the game out of reach. Purdy completed 19 of 30 passes for 218 yards without a turnover, and Denver dropped to 2-2.
Minnesota stayed perfect by beating the Miami Dolphins 15-10 in another low-scoring game. According to NFL Research, the Vikings are only the third team in league history, and the first in more than a century, to open a season 4-0 even though they failed to reach the end zone in two of those wins. The 1922 and 1923 Chicago Cardinals are the others.
Bills lose for the first time
At Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, Drake Maye threw for 269 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 54 yards as New England beat the previously unbeaten Bills 29-26. Receiver Efton Chism III made a one-handed, 23-yard touchdown catch with 1:50 remaining to put the Patriots ahead, and safety Craig Woodson later intercepted Josh Allen, ESPN reported. New England is 2-2, and Buffalo is 3-1.
“It gets us back in the race,” Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said.
Around the league
The Los Angeles Rams beat the Philadelphia Eagles 24-20, and Eagles running back Saquon Barkley left early with a hamstring injury, ESPN reported. Carolina beat Detroit 32-26 on Sunday night, and Dallas edged Houston 34-30 behind 17 catches by CeeDee Lamb. The New York Giants beat Arizona 36-24, clinched by Deonte Banks’ 98-yard interception return for a touchdown.
Baltimore beat Tennessee 24-18, but quarterback Lamar Jackson left with an ankle injury. Cincinnati lost 22-17 to Jacksonville and lost receiver Ja’Marr Chase to a concussion. Chicago beat the New York Jets 23-12, Indianapolis beat Washington 30-13 in London, Seattle beat the Los Angeles Chargers 30-23 and Green Bay edged Tampa Bay 17-14.
What’s next
Week 4 wraps up Monday night when the Atlanta Falcons visit the New Orleans Saints at 8:15 p.m. ET in a matchup of 1-2 teams. Kansas City is off next weekend before hosting the Chargers on Oct. 18. The Raiders visit New England next Sunday.
