Chiefs vs. Raiders Grades: KC Benefits from Change at Cornerback

The Kansas City Chiefs did just enough to defeat the Las Vegas Raiders on Black Friday, but much of the discussion about the reigning back-to-back champions has revolved around a series of underwhelming performances, despite KC’s 11-1 record.

Who stood out in KC’s post-Thanksgiving victory? A closer look at Pro Football Focus grades from the Chiefs’ narrow win can point out some highlights and lowlights of the team’s standing late in the 2024 season.

The Chiefs have struggled to stabilize their cornerback position since losing No. 2 corner Jaylen Watson to a season-ending ankle injury in Week 7. Behind clear-cut No. 1 cornerback Trent McDuffie, 26-year-old former seventh-round pick Nazeeh Johnson has received the most opportunities since Watson’s injury. On Friday, Johnson got the start again but was pulled early in the game. After playing 90%, 100% and 94% of the defensive snaps in KC’s previous three weeks, Johnson played just 19% (13 snaps) against the Raiders. After a few surprise snaps from cornerback Keith Taylor, the Chiefs turned back to a familiar face for the rest of the game: 2022 fourth-round pick Joshua Williams.

After two weeks without seeing a single snap on defense, Williams took 78% of the defensive workload on Friday and was given a strong 79.0 grade from PFF, good for the Chiefs’ fourth-best grade of the day as Kansas City’s highest-graded defender.

Will Williams get the nod on Sunday night against the Los Angeles Chargers? Is he the new de facto starter opposite McDuffie? Could the Chiefs use Williams and Johnson in order to allow McDuffie to move into the slot instead of almost exclusively relying on safety Chamarri Conner (who recorded the team’s third-worst 44.2 PFF grade against Las Vegas) to cover slot receivers? These are questions for defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and defensive backs coach Dave Merritt to answer. With a solid day on Friday, Williams at least provides another option for KC’s struggling secondary.

In his first game back since suffering a torn ACL in January’s AFC Championship Game, defensive end Charles Omenihu took half of the Chiefs’ defensive snaps and graded out nicely from PFF in his return to live action.

Omenihu’s 71.0 mark isn’t eye-popping, but his workload and burst was immediately noteworthy for a player coming back from a serious injury and rehabilitation process.

Among qualifying Chiefs players (20+ snaps), left tackle Wanya Morris landed where most fans would have expected to see him after Friday’s disastrous start: alone at the bottom. Morris earned a ghastly 30.5 grade from PFF in a game that resulted in Morris’s benching deep into the fourth quarter. After sliding left guard Joe Thuney to left tackle for the end of Friday’s game, the Chiefs have their eyes set on the pending availability of newly signed left tackle D.J. Humphries.

Read More: Chris Jones on the ‘Self-Inflicted Wounds’ and Silver Linings of the Chiefs’ Defensive Performance vs. Raiders