Another week. Another victory. And another game where the… Kansas City Chiefs They failed to live up to their own demands.

The offensive line and secondary continued to struggle. Still, the Chiefs — aided by quarterback Patrick Mahomes — found a way to do enough to beat another bad team and take the lead Las Vegas Raiders 19-17 on Black Friday in Arrowhead.

Here are five things we learned.

1. The pass rush still has a pulse

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Last month, it seemed as if Chiefs fans were consoling themselves that the pass rush would awaken from its hibernation once Charles Omenihu returned from injury; He would be the final spark that lit the fire

That seems to be at least partially true.

It is true that Omenihu returned from injury on Friday. It’s also true that the pass rush played better than it has in weeks. But Omenihiu wasn’t that big of a factor. We expected that as the Chiefs are still in the process of getting him back up.

Chris Jones found a way to get home and sack the quarterback twice. George Karlaftis added another sack. But aside from taking down Raiders quarterback Aiden O’Connell, the Chiefs did a good job of keeping their hands up in the passing lanes and hitting the ball downfield, doing what they could to contain Kansas City’s struggling secondary. to support man.

2. The Chiefs need DJ Humphries to be ready

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Just when it was thought that Kansas City’s offensive tackles couldn’t get any worse, the team said: “Here. Hold my beer.”

It’s hard to win in this league without two good offensive tackles. By the end of Friday’s game, they had a good defender lined up at left tackle and that was about it.

Wanya Morris looked worse than she has all year. At one point, he fell victim to a direct hit from Brad Pitt’s Achilles rupture by Raiders edge rusher K’Lavon Chaisson.

The only difference is that in Troy the big bald man put up more resistance than Morris.

Going into this game, there was no question that Kansas City needed newly signed left tackle DJ Humphries to play at a useful level. But after Friday, you have to assume the team is also looking to draft another tackle in the 2025 NFL Draft – because we just don’t feel good about the development of the team’s young tackles.

3. If the Chiefs played the Giants this year, Daniel Jones would still be their quarterback

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Kansas City’s secondary should be nicknamed “The QB Whisperers” for helping a struggling quarterback have a career day. The latest beneficiary of this motivational program is O’Connell, who analyzed the Chiefs’ secondary with ease – just like the Carolina Panthers’ Bryce Young did in Week 12.

How do the Chiefs do this? It’s as simple as 1-2-3.

1. Play an elite slot cornerback on the outside.
2. Play five safeties to balance out the rest of your dime defense.
3. Give each receiver at least 10 feet of separation on each route.

I’ve been beating this drum for weeks. You can’t tell me these are the best cornerbacks available. There’s a diamond in the rough somewhere out there.

I don’t care if he’s a high school football coach in Texas whose career was derailed by injury – like a football version of Dennis Quaid in “The Rookie.”

Wherever and whoever they are, Kansas City general manager Brett Veach has to find them.

4. Travis Kelce is flirting with 1,000 yards again

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There’s no doubt that Travis Kelce has lost a step – but he’s still playing at a very high level.

With five games remaining, he has 637 receiving yards.

It’s very likely he’ll reach 1,000 yards this year. He requires 72 yards per game. With defenses closing in on him (and Mahomes’ penchant for spreading the ball around), it could be difficult for the old war horse to get those yards. Then again, nothing is impossible as the emergence of Noah Gray and DeAndre Hopkins takes some attention away from him.

All it takes is a big game to get the old boy back on track.

5. You’re out of luck with 11 wins and a playoff spot in November

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This team has problems. There are glaring problems that need to be addressed. It also has a 1.5 game lead over the Buffalo Bills, giving it the No. 1 seed (and a bye) in the playoffs.

On Friday – five games before the end of the season – the Chiefs secured a spot in the playoffs. As much as we criticize the gaps in the team’s roster, this is no coincidence. You have to do 1,000 other things right to make up for the other things that go wrong.

What the Chiefs have accomplished this season is remarkable in every way. If the team can find a way to continue winning these close games, they can have the best record in franchise history.

Yeah… that’s a big deal If. But no matter how the rest of the regular season turns out, the Chiefs have punched their ticket for a chance at the Super Bowl – and got it Three-peat.

Bonus: It was nice to see Isiah Pacheco regain his energy on offense

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They say you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.

Here’s the upshot: Sometimes you don’t know what you had until it comes back.

When running back Isiah Pacheco returned from injury on Friday, it was refreshing to see his infectious energy breathe additional life into an offense that, aside from its offensive line woes, has worked out pretty well.

Welcome back, Pop.