Raiders vs. Chiefs: Score and Twitter Reaction for Thursday Night Football

The AFC West standings say the Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs are tied at 10-3, but Kansas City seized control of the division Thursday with a 21-13 victory at Arrowhead Stadium.

The Chiefs won each of the head-to-head battles with Oakland this season and control their own destiny for the division crown and a first-round bye in the playoffs.

They also handed the Raiders their first road loss of the campaign and moved further ahead of the 8-4 Denver Broncos in the loaded AFC West.

Alex Smith was far from a game manager with 264 passing yards on 17 completions. Travis Kelce (101 receiving yards), Chris Conley (70 receiving yards) and Tyreek Hill (66 receiving yards) all had catches of more than 30 yards, and Hill hauled in Smith's lone touchdown throw of the game.

Hill also scored on a punt return, and NFL director of football communications Randall Liu noted he joined some impressive company in the process:

The win came at a cost, as the Chiefs announced four-time Pro Bowl linebacker Derrick Johnson suffered an Achilles injury.

"Johnson has torn an Achilles before," Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk speculated. "That injury, people who have had it know the feeling instantly. His reaction spoke volumes."

On the other side, Latavius Murray led the way for Oakland with 103 rushing yards and a touchdown. Derek Carr threw for just 117 yards and zero touchdowns, although Skip Bayless of Fox Sports pointed out the quarterback didn't receive much help:

Despite the loss, the Raiders caught an early break when Hill muffed a punt. James Cowser recovered, and Oakland parlayed the turnover into a 44-yard Sebastian Janikowski field goal.

Oakland kept rolling, stuffing a 4th-and-1 attempt by Spencer Ware at the team's 27-yard line. Will Brinson of CBS Sports reacted to Chiefs head coach Andy Reid's decision:

The Raiders didn't capitalize, though, and Hill made up for his fumble with a 36-yard touchdown catch to give the Chiefs the lead. Hill split two defenders with his speed, and Smith placed it where only the receiver could catch it.

Pete Sweeney of the Chiefs' official website called it a "top-five career throw for Smith."

The team shared footage of the connection:

Smith continued to torch Oakland's secondary during a seven-play, 78-yard drive that included a 28-yard completion to Kelce, a 31-yard completion to Conley and a 16-yard completion to Hill before Charcandrick West scored on a three-yard run.

Louis Riddick of ESPN described an Oakland concern:

Hill found another way to impact the game when he returned a punt 78 yards for a touchdown.

"My god is he fast," Albert Breer of The MMQB tweeted as the NFL shared the replay:

It wasn't all good news for Kansas City.

Johnson suffered his injury on the next defensive series, and the Chiefs couldn't stop the Raiders' dominant 14-play, 92-yard drive. Murray scored a one-yard touchdown, helping Oakland trim its halftime deficit to 21-10.

The comeback continued when TJ Carrie intercepted Smith and returned it to the red zone on the first possession of the third quarter. However, Kansas City's defense held strong and allowed only a field goal.

Khalil Mack then sacked Smith and forced a fumble, giving the Raiders the ball in the red zone again. Kansas City forced Oakland to settle for another field goal, but Marquette King mishandled the snap and was tackled short of the first-down marker.

Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star shared one of the key stats:

The defenses settled in from there, forcing four consecutive punts before Smith made a couple of critical plays. He threw a strike to Kelce for 34 yards from his own end zone to create breathing room and scrambled for a first down on 3rd-and-4.

Kansas City ultimately added a fifth punt to the streak, but it flipped the field position and pinned Oakland at the 13-yard line with less than 11 minutes remaining.

It appeared as though field position wasn't an issue when Carr threw to a wide-open Amari Cooper downfield for what would have been a touchdown, but the receiver didn't haul it in.

"Did Cooper slip on the turf there trying to track the ball?" Mark Purdy of the Mercury News asked. "That was very odd."

The Raiders ended the streak of seven straight punts on their next possession, but only because Kansas City's defense stopped them on 4th-and-6 in the red zone. Oakland had 3rd-and-1, but Carr's pass into the end zone fell incomplete. Austin Howard was then penalized for a false start, and Carr threw another incompletion on fourth down.

Jeff Borzello of ESPN.com did not agree with the play-calling:

Ware ended any chance of a comeback with an incredible second effort on 3rd-and-2 to pick up a first down, and Kansas City ran out the clock for one of the most important wins of the season.

What's Next?

The Raiders face the San Diego Chargers and Indianapolis Colts before closing the season against the Broncos. The final game could have division title or wild-card implications, but Oakland needs to take care of business in the next two to remain in favorable position.

The Chiefs close with the Tennessee Titans, Broncos and Chargers. If they can manage three wins to close the season, they will be the AFC West champions and earn a first-round bye in the playoffs.

Postgame Reaction

The NFL shared Smith's quotes after the game:

Reid confirmed Johnson ruptured his Achilles, per BJ Kissel of the Chiefs' official website.

Reid pointed to Justin Houston and Eric Berry's ability to rally the defense after Johnson's injury as a key factor in the victory, per Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star.

Raiders coach Jack Del Rio was asked why he didn't give the ball to Murray on 3rd-and-1 late in the game and said, "I am not going to speak to one play. I trust our guys," per Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Cooper reflected on the cold conditions, per Jimmy Durkin of the Bay Area News Group: "It's not basketball. We can't play in the gym. You have to be able to play in any type of weather."

Cooper also said the deep ball he didn't haul in moved on him at the last second, per Durkin.

Raiders offensive lineman Donald Penn discussed his mindset following the loss, per Durkin: "I'm pissed. We had control and we gave it to someone else."

While Oakland will need Kansas City to lose again to win the division, it still has control of its own destiny in terms of reaching the postseason.