For the last decade or so, the AFC West has been owned by the Kansas City Chiefs. Before that, it was the Denver Broncos, and before that, it was the Las Vegas Raiders, well, the Oakland Raiders.
The Raiders are trying to make it their turn again. But, of course, the Chiefs are standing in their way, and every other AFC team’s way. They don’t stop winning, and it has to be pissing everyone off.
For the Raiders, they just can’t slay the beast that is the Chiefs consistently. Yes, they beat them on Christmas Day two years ago, but the Chiefs went on to win the Super Bowl. They almost beat them this last year, but a botched snap let the game slip away from the Raiders’ fingers. Now, it’s time for them to really put the Chiefs away.
Luckily, the Raiders have a guy on their team now who is pretty familiar with beating Mahomes.
“I mean, we had some good battles with him,” Devin White said. “I think we played them three times. They beat us, too, but we ultimately got the good one. I’ve got a lot of experience with him, just chasing him around. I was a spy in the game, I got to chase him around, and that was fun. The only thing I didn’t get to do was play in Arrowhead. Every game was in Raymond James.
“So, now I get to go back and forth, and it could be a real good competition because he’s a great quarterback to play against, and I think he makes you rise up to the level of competition that he’s going to play at. So, man, that was one of those games where you want to really, really play at your best, because it’s best on best. A good quarterback, good linebacker going at it, making checks at the line of scrimmage, just trying to beat one another within the game.”
The Chiefs are a dynasty, as much as all Raiders fans hate to admit it. But, there have been two teams that have been able to embarrass them. Of course, that’s the Philadelphia Eagles this last year and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before that. On that Buccaneers team was Devin White, who gave Mahomes and the offense fits — well, there were a lot of players who did that, but I’m sure we all remember the game that Devin White had. At that time, he was on a run to having one of the best postseasons by any defender, maybe ever.
Since then, it’s been a bit downhill for him as he’s dealt with some injuries, bouncing from the Eagles to the Houston Texans to now the Raiders. But he’s healthy now, and he claims he feels as good as he once did. And, he’s ready to play the Chiefs twice a year.
White and the rest of the LB room will have to be at their best to beat Mahomes and Kansas City. But if there is anyone who knows how to do it when it matters most, it’s him.