3 things to know about Raiders’ opponent: Chiefs suffer through atypical season

The Raiders usually would be the warmup act to a Chiefs team preparing to make a Super Bowl run this time of the season.

But when the defending AFC champions roll into Allegiant Stadium on Sunday for the season finale, they will do so as a shell of their usual selves with a 6-10 record, a new quarterback and already plotting a plan to make sure a season like this never happens again. The last time they missed the playoffs was 2014.

Here are three things to know about the Raiders’ next opponent:

1. This isn’t the typical Chiefs

Forget the record, which is incredible enough considering the Chiefs had won nine straight AFC West titles and had been to the Super Bowl five times in the past seven seasons, winning three.

The Chiefs look vastly different at the most important position on the field. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes won’t be on the field Sunday after he suffered season-ending ACL and LCL tears in his left knee during a Week 15 loss to the Chargers.

Mahomes’ status for the start of next season won’t be known for a while, but he has already had surgery and started his rehab.

“Yeah, he’s around,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said this week “He’s in the building working and doing his rehab, spending a lot of hours doing it. He’s around and sees the guys, but most of his time is being spent rehabbing.”

Former Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew, who signed with the Chiefs in the offseason, was first in line to replace Mahomes. But Minshew also suffered a knee injury, so the job now belongs to Chris Oladokun, a South Dakota State product who has been in the organization since 2022.

2. Final game for Kelce?

Tight end Travis Kelce has dominated the Raiders while helping lead the Chiefs to a 19-4 record in the past 23 games against their division rivals.

In that time, Kelce has 131 catches for 1,636 yards and 12 touchdowns.

No one in the Raiders’ organization would be upset if Sunday was Kelce’s final game in the NFL. But the respect for the 36-year-old is without question.

“It’s been a privilege to go against them,” defensive coordinator Patrick Graham said. “Nothing but respect for the production, the leadership, the consistency.”

3. Chiefs on the move

The Chiefs are starting their final run as residents of Missouri and playing at Arrowhead Stadium.

The club recently announced that it will leave its longtime Missouri home after agreeing to move into a $3 billion domed stadium in Kansas. The new stadium is expected to open for the 2031 season.

In a deal that rivals the Raiders’ stadium agreement in Nevada, the state of Kansas agreed to create sales tax and revenue bonds that will pay for up to 70 percent of the stadium, which would include a retail and entertainment district.

The Chiefs will kick in $1 billion to the project.

“We made a decision as a family that this was the right opportunity and the best for the organization for several reasons,” Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said. “It’s about the fans. My dad was always about the fans and thinking about the future.”

A new domed stadium would allow the Chiefs to host major events, such as a Super Bowl.

“This will give Chiefs Kingdom a state-of-the-art facility for multiple generations, a building that can last for at least 50 or 60 years,” Hunt said.

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.