The Kansas City Chiefs have made a habit of winning games in the most unlikely of ways.

The way they beat the Raiders on Friday still left Patrick Mahomes and Co. shaking their heads in disbelief.

The two-time MVP watched from the sideline as Las Vegas drove within reach of a game-winning field goal with 15 seconds left, only to fumble the snap on his final offensive play, allowing the Chiefs to escape with a 19-17 victory, the Also assured was their tenth consecutive playoff berth – the second-longest streak in NFL history.

“Obviously it was a big stop in a big moment that got us the win,” Mahomes said.

The Raiders (2-10) had taken control at their own eight-yard line with just under two minutes left, and quarterback Aidan O’Connell quickly moved them across midfield, eventually firing the ball to the Kansas City 32 for the to stop the clock.

Instead of trying to score the game-winning field goal — Daniel Carlson had missed three from over 50 — the Raiders lined up to start a play, hoping to gain a few yards with a throw to the sideline before time expired to win. But amid the din at Arrowhead Stadium, center Andre James grabbed the ball when O’Connell wasn’t expecting it, and it bounced off the quarterback’s shoulder. Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton pounced, and the recovery continued when a flag on the play was determined to be an illegal change by the Raiders.

“I actually wasn’t watching,” Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said of the fateful play. “The last game there was a lot going on, from the line to the flags to snapping the ball.”

Mahomes finished the game with 306 passing yards and a touchdown, and fill-in kicker Matt Wright hit four field goals for the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs (11-1), playing in their NFL-record 14th game Sequence won by one possession.

Like many of them, including last week’s last-second win over Carolina, the Chiefs didn’t seem in the mood to celebrate.

“I mean, we just have such high standards for ourselves. We don’t feel like we’re playing our best football,” Mahomes said. “We have to find a way to build ourselves up so that we can play great as a complete team. It’s great that we’re finding ways to achieve success. That’s what you’re aiming for. But our goal is to get to the Super Bowl.”

The Raiders also had a chance to take the lead early in the fourth quarter when O’Connell drove them through midfield. But the Chiefs forced three incompletions — George Karlaftis and Justin Reid knocked down two — to reach fourth.

Carlson went down the field, but his 58-yard attempt with 2:21 left never got near the uprights.

O’Connell finished the game with 340 passing yards and two touchdowns for the Raiders, who have lost eight of nine games against their bitter AFC West rival. Brock Bowers had 10 catches for 140 yards and one of the scores.

“These guys fought until the end until the clock showed zero,” Pierce said. “They believed we would win and fought until the end. All phases contributed to us getting to this position, but Aiden did a great job. He stayed in the pocket, made great throws for us and pushed the ball down the field. The numbers say what they will say. I am proud of my team, our team. I’m proud of the fight. We once again came up short against the world champions. Twice now.”

The hapless Raiders were able to hang on thanks to the same problems that had plagued the Chiefs most of the season: their offensive tackles couldn’t give Mahomes time to throw, their secondary failed repeatedly, and they committed too many penalties – three-on-one offensive possessions alone .

In fact, Mahomes was under extreme pressure when he hit Justin Watson from six yards out late in the first half. Not only did the pass give the Chiefs a 10-3 lead, it sent the two-time MVP past Len Dawson for his franchise-record 328th TD throw.

O’Connell, forced back to the field last weekend after Gardner Minshew broke his collarbone, got off to a slow start after missing a month with a broken thumb. But as the Chiefs continued to make field goals, O’Connell found his rhythm and eventually threw two touchdown passes to give Las Vegas the lead.

The first went to Bowers, already one of the most productive rookies in NFL history, with 1:40 remaining in the third quarter. Then, after the Chiefs made a three-pointer, O’Connell hit Tre Tucker on a 58-yard strike on the first play of the fourth quarter.

The Chiefs responded with Wright’s fourth field goal to take a 19-17 lead with about 10 minutes left.

A lot still had to happen before the end result was clear.

“The win here was positive. “These things are hard to do, especially against this team,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “They do a good job against us, it seems every time we play against them. It comes to the end.”