October 12, 2026
Four games, four wins, and the Chiefs are sitting atop the AFC West exactly where Chiz says they belong. Kansas City escaped Las Vegas with a win that Pru, ever the diplomat, wouldn't call a domination ("I'll say solid win"), and now the team heads into a Week 5 bye at 4-0. Dex, Pru, and Chiz sat down to talk about what they saw, what worries them, and how the rest of the schedule shakes out. Here's the rundown.
Arrowhead West, and a Raiders Team That's for Real
"We are what your record says we are," Chiz said, and the record says 4-0. The Chiefs rolled into what Chiz calls Arrowhead West, with roughly a 60% red crowd inside Allegiant Stadium, which can't be fun for Raiders fans. But he was just as quick to give Las Vegas its due, through gritted teeth: "I hate the Raiders with a white hot passion. They're legit."
The numbers back him up. The Raiders held the ball for 35 minutes to Kansas City's 24, held the Chiefs to 5-for-13 on third down, and gained 437 yards. Kirk Cousins threw for 365 of them, which made it look like the old veteran was doing a lot more than holding the seat warm. Chiz's take: don't expect to see Mendoza this year, barring injury. "They'd be crazy to switch right now." Brock Bowers looks healthy again, and Vegas threw to its tight ends 21 times.
Mahomes finished with two touchdowns and 225 yards, and he wasn't happy about it. The broadcast caught him going back and forth with Bieniemy on the sideline. Nobody on the show thinks there's real beef. Chiz's read is that Mahomes wants to score every time he touches the ball, and he watched too many three-and-outs in the middle of the game.
Special Teams Won This One
The loudest praise of the night went to Dave Toub's unit, which has taken plenty of heat this year. Chiz handed out three game balls.
The punter. Chiz's friend at the game texted him, "Damn, your punter's good." Ariza flipped the field multiple times when the Chiefs needed it, and Dex called a late one "monstrous."
The forced fumble on a kickoff return. "Enormous."
The fake punt. The best part is how it happened. Right before the snap, four Vegas players sprinted backward to set up a return, and Ariza noticed the Raiders had left too early. He saw the opening and took it. The Raiders' special teams coach was caught on camera afterward saying "that's on me." To make it better, the Chiefs were flagged on the play, the Raiders made them re-kick, and that swung the game too.
"I gotta give Toub his props," Chiz said. "He's been under fire, and deservedly so."
Kenneth Walker Is on Pace for the Record Books
Kenneth Walker went for 22 carries, 177 yards, and two touchdowns, which puts him at 537 yards and four touchdowns through four games. Pru ran the pace math and came up with something north of 2,200 yards. "Which obviously has never happened," he said, until Dex reminded everybody that Saquon did 2,000 two years ago with the exact same game logs through this point.
Chiz brought the Chiefs' all-time single-season rushing list and asked the group whether Walker breaks each name:
#5, Jamaal Charles, 1,509. Yes, easily.
#4, Priest Holmes, 1,555. Yes. Dex's "chalk mark" is about 1,650, which would clear this one and be a lock to get into the top three.
#3, Priest Holmes (2002), 1,615 yards and 21 touchdowns. The yards are possible. The 21 touchdowns are not. Dex and Pru both pointed out that Mahomes is too creative at the goal line, Andy Reid doesn't just call run after run after run, and the Chiefs have been stuffed on short yardage too many times in recent years. "It's the chink in Andy Reid's armor," Chiz said.
#2, Larry Johnson (2005), 1,750 yards and 20 touchdowns.
#1, Larry Johnson (2006), 1,789 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Nobody in the room had realized how good those Larry Johnson seasons were, and they came on mostly bad Chiefs teams. "Most reviled running back in Chiefs history," Chiz said. Dex thinks Walker can finish at the top of that leaderboard, with an extra game on the schedule helping, even if the touchdown record stays out of reach. His floor, in his mind: 1,500 to 1,600. "He is everything we thought he could be, and my God, he's exceeded that. I think Kenneth Walker's been a shining angel from heaven for this Chiefs offense." And Mahomes? "I love scoring thirty points a week again."
The Tyquan Thornton Injury and the Tyreek Question
The ugly moment of the game was Thornton's injury. He had five catches, 111 yards, and two touchdowns when it happened, and he'd been the deep threat the Chiefs have been looking for. Chiz's worry: do defenses start stuffing the run and the short stuff again like last year?
Dex is honest about what he's seen from Xavier Worthy ("the slowest 4.3 guy I've ever seen. He doesn't play very fast"), and Pru says it's still Worthy who has to grow into the stretch-the-field role. Cyrus Allen got a target after Thornton went down but was overthrown, and the group likes his hands and route-running more than his speed.
That brings up Tyreek Hill, where the smoke is thick. Dex gave it a 75% chance the Chiefs sign him: he knows the playbook, the scheme, the quarterback, the tight end, and the coach, and if you're Tyreek Hill, you get your pick of teams. Dex would even take less money to go back to a division leader at 4-0. Pru went lower, and he wasn't shy about it. There's a difference between having him on the roster and having him make an impact, he's three years older, and it was a nasty injury. "Speedsters don't get faster, do they?" Chiz asked. "He might be a limpy cheetah," Dex said. The cap is its own problem: "We don't have the cap room," Chiz said, so Tyreek would have to take a discount.
Dex also floated trade options: Marvin Harrison Jr. in Arizona, Garrett Wilson, and even the Justin Jefferson rumors, which he doesn't see happening because of the draft capital. "If he could actually go to the Chiefs, that'd be stupid," he said.
Kingsley's Benching
Kingsley was benched for the whole game for a disciplinary reason that hasn't been disclosed. Pru's read: Andy Reid is confident enough to bench a starting guard on the road against a division opponent, which makes it a pretty serious message. He's hopeful it's a one-time lesson for a young player. Reid said afterward that the team would be better for it and that it stays between them. Chiz gave Kingsley credit for sitting on the sideline with his helmet on, ready to go, the entire game.
Is the Defense a Concern?
The Chiefs haven't had a sack since Week 1, and they gave up 365 passing yards, but the run defense was excellent, holding the Raiders to 72 yards on the ground. Pru's explanation: the Chiefs have always struggled covering tight ends, and Vegas has two good ones. Dex pointed out that the line for the tight ends was 14 catches, 168 yards, and a touchdown.
The crew is still bullish. Dex's argument is that Spags' defenses always get better as the year goes on, and with a bye week and two weeks of tape, plus Justin Herbert's offensive line in Week 6 possibly missing both tackles, he expects the sacks to show up. He also noted that Seattle's Sam Darnold is "known to take some sacks."
A few individual notes:
Mansoor Delane had ten tackles and was a bright spot against the run and the screen game. Chiz said he's excellent at sniffing out screens: "he runs right around the guy supposed to block him and just nails the dude." Pru thinks he's legit if he can stay healthy.
Chris Jones has 11 tackles and is getting held and double-teamed constantly. "Full Nelsons getting around his neck," Dex said. He's making an impact, just not in the sack column.
Nick Bolton has been better than Chiz feared, and R. Mason Thomas should have had a sack this game.
Peter Woods is the one Chiz has been a little disappointed in so far.
Pru's goal for the defense: a top-ten unit, which would be fine given the offense. "They may not be top ten," he said. "They definitely won't be top five."
The Rest of the Schedule: Where Do They End Up?
Chiz walked through every remaining game and made everyone call it win or loss. Here's where the group landed.
Chargers (home, after the bye): Win. "We're gonna make it way too close," Pru said, "but they'll end up winning." That makes it 5-0.
At Seattle (night game): Loss. "I'm just gonna give up a loss at some point," Dex said.
At Denver: Loss. Dex: "It's hard to beat a team twice." That puts the team at 5-2.
Jets (home): Win.
At Atlanta: Loss. A game that used to look like a free win now features Bijan and Drake London, though Pru noted London won't score on you. "He'll just run into a guy at the ten-yard line," Dex said. 6-3.
Cardinals (home): Win. 7-3.
At Buffalo (Thursday night): Loss. 7-4.
At the Rams: Win. 8-4.
At Cincinnati: Win. 9-4.
Patriots (home, Monday night): Win. "Primetime Patty is a tough out."
49ers (home): Loss, in what could be a Super Bowl preview.
At the Chargers: Win. Dex thinks they could be playing for draft picks by then.
Raiders (home, finale): Win. 12-5.
That's a likely two or three seed, with a path to the top seed if other results break right. The biggest road tests: Seattle, Atlanta, Buffalo, and the Rams. The biggest home games: the 49ers and Patriots. Chiz's confession on Buffalo: he's fine losing that one in the regular season, because he hates beating a team once and then having to play them in the playoffs.
Bye Week Notes
Dex pointed out that Andy Reid is famously good coming out of a bye, and Chiz put the record at something like "one million and two." The Chargers are also a good first opponent without Thornton, since the offense can work out adjustments against a banged-up team. "I like the odds to win the division starting now," Chiz said.
Dex also reported a perfect start in a different arena: he's lost a head in one of his guillotine leagues, but he's kept every head in the Vikings and Chiefs, so those two are 8-0 together. Chiz pointed out Minnesota's defense has been so good that "the field goals haven't needed to get in the end zone." His dream scenario: "If we could combine the Chiefs offense with the Minnesota defense, holy cow, we would be world beaters."
The Chiefs are off in Week 5, so the next Chiefs episode comes after the Chargers game, about two weeks from now.
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