Sports
Kansas City Chiefs Clutch Up, Las Vegas Raiders Collapse: A Tale as Old as Time
The Kansas City Chiefs would seem to have already used five years of good luck this season, but the football gods just keep delivering more.
The Chiefs didn’t wait until the last play to get their good fortune this time, but a botched snap by the Los Angeles Raiders on Friday and a recovery by the Chiefs with 11 seconds left qualifies as another stunning dose.
The Raiders were at the Kansas City 32-yard line and in position to attempt a go-ahead field goal when the Chiefs again received late-game magic. That 19-17 escape marked Kansas City’s ninth victory by single digits this season—a new NFL record.
Five of Kansas City’s victories have been determined on the final play of the game: two made field goals, one rushing touchdown in overtime, one blocked field goal and one opponent touchdown overturned.
Now they get this latest win where Raiders center Jackson Powers-Johnson unexpectedly snapped the ball. It caromed off the upper right arm of quarterback Aidan O’Connell, and the Chiefs’ Nick Bolton recovered it to leave Las Vegas stunned and make Kansas City (10-1) the first team to clinch a playoff spot.
Kansas City blew a 16-3 lead against the lowly Raiders (2-10), who scored two touchdowns to move ahead before the Chiefs got a go-ahead field goal from Matthew Wright.
Five days earlier, the Chiefs blew a 14-point lead against the horrid Carolina Panthers before needing a field goal as time expired to win.
So we’re seeing that Kansas City isn’t a formidable team. Star quarterback Patrick Mahomes said the Chiefs need to get better. I think we all agree with him.
Not to be forgotten is that Kansas City wobbled a lot last season. After their Week 10 bye, the Chiefs lost four of their next six games to fall to 9-6, and people were wondering what was wrong.
Kansas City finished 11-6 and beat the Miami Dolphins in the wild-card round when the temperature was minus-4 (feels like minus-27) at kickoff. Then it won road games against the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens before notching an overtime victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
So after ‘what’s wrong with the Chiefs?’ was the big late December question, these guys rallied to win the whole darn thing.
That makes it difficult to assess the current Chiefs. They are playing a lot of close games and also playing down to the competition.
But only the powerful Buffalo Bills have beaten them.
As for the Raiders (2-10), they lost their eighth straight game since beating the Cleveland Browns on Sept. 29.
Las Vegas has lost five games by double digits during the stretch, and the one place where Friday’s loss helps is that it improves the chances of gaining the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Quarterback Aidan O’Connell was back after breaking his right (throwing) thumb in Week 7 against the Los Angeles Rams. He fared well by throwing for two touchdowns and a career-high 340 yards.
With Gardner Minshew (collarbone) done for the season, the Raiders need to study O’Connell the rest of the campaign so they can make this decision: Is he our quarterback of the future, or do we need to find one?
There are certainly things to like about O’Connell. When the Raiders were down 13 points, this game could have gotten away fast. But O’Connell picked up his play and made some big-time throws.
Rookie tight end Brock Bowers caught 10 passes for 140 yards and he is a definite future star.
But looking at the total picture, this is a miserable season for Las Vegas. The Raiders even lost at home by 14 points to the Panthers.
You have to wonder if coach Antonio Pierce will keep his job. He did a good job last season by going 5-4 after taking over, but there isn’t much good to dig up this time around.
Perhaps he deserves a second full season out of fairness, but you know what can happen when keeping a coach out of charity? Another double-digit loss season.
On Friday, that was a game the Raiders were in position to win. Then snap—it wasn’t.
Sports
Corbin Carroll slam extends D-backs' win streak, Jays' skid
Apr 18, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks right fielder Corbin Carroll (7) steals secondbase under the tag by Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Andrés Giménez (0) in the first inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images Corbin Carroll broke a tie with an opposite-field grand slam in the eighth inning and the Arizona Diamondbacks extended their winning streak to four games with a 6-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in Phoenix on Saturday.
Ildemaro Vargas singled off Jeff Hoffman (1-2) to open the eighth, extending his season-opening hitting streak to a franchise-record 14 games.
Alek Thomas singled and Ketel Marte walked to bring up Carroll, who hit his fourth career grand slam on a 3-1 fastball.
The D-backs, who have won eight of 10, lead the majors with 10 comeback victories.
Geraldo Perdomo had three singles and an RBI and Thomas had two hits and an RBI for the Diamondbacks, who had eight hits.
Nathan Lukes had three hits, Kazuma Okamoto had two hits and an RBI and Ernie Clement and Eloy Jimenez had two hits apiece for the Blue Jays, who have lost four straight, six of seven and 12 of 15.
Juan Morillo (1-1) struck out Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on a 100 mph fastball with a runner on first to end the seventh and keep the game tied at 2. He allowed one hit and struck out two over 1 1/3 innings of relief.
Toronto starter Max Scherzer gave up two runs on five hits in six innings, with one strikeout and one walk.
Arizona starter Zac Gallen permitted two runs and nine hits, leaving after Okamato’s single tied the game at 2 with two outs in the sixth. He struck out three with no walks.
Lukes, Guerrero and Jesus Sanchez singled in the top of the first, with Sanchez’s one-out single driving in Lukes for a 1-0 lead. Guerrero has a nine-game hitting streak.
The D-backs tied it in their half of the first when Carroll walked, stole second and scored on Perdomo’s single. Thomas grounded a two-out double inside the bag at first to drive in Jose Fernandez, who had singled, to give Arizona a 2-1 lead in the fifth.
Toronto tied it in the sixth after an apparent double play was changed after a review. Jimenez singled with one out, and Gallen appeared to get out of the inning when Andres Gimenez grounded to Fernandez to start what originally was called an inning-ending double play.
Perdomo was ruled to have missed the bag on the play, leaving Jimenez at second, and he scored on Okamoto’s single to tie the game.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Talles Magno awaiting NYCFC second act as Charlotte FC visit
Apr 4, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York City FC forward Talles Magno (11) looks to shoot the ball defended by St. Louis City SC midfielder Miguel Perez (28) during the second half at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark Smith-Imagn Images Is dynamic offensive threat Talles Magno finally ready to pay dividends in his second stint with New York City FC?
That question may be answered when NYCFC (3-2-2, 11 points) play host to Charlotte FC (3-2-2, 11 points) on Saturday at Citi Field in a matchup of teams part of the four-way fourth-place logjam in the Eastern Conference.
Magno first made noise as a high-profile teenager in 2021 for the eventual MLS Cup champions. He scored the winning goal as New York City topped Philadelphia Union 2-1 in the conference finals. A year later, Magno posted seven goals and 10 assists.
After being on loan for 17 months to Brazilian team Corinthians, Magno, now 23, returned this season but has yet to start an MLS match.
“There’s a few things he needs to take care of,” coach Pascal Jansen said. “Physically, he’s not at the level yet where he needs to be in order to be competitive enough with the guys that are the starters at the moment.”
Magno flashed his scoring ability on Tuesday, achieving the first hat trick of his professional career while leading NYCFC to a 5-2 win over Westchester SC in a U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 match.
“I’m working very hard on getting my opportunity to start, given everything that’s possible for the team,” Magno said through an interpreter on Thursday. “I’m working with Pascal to see what I can do to get that opportunity.”
In the meantime, Nico Fernandez (five goals), Maxi Moralez (five assists) and Agustin Ojeda (two goals, one assist) have been supplying firepower for NYCFC.
After a hot start, New York City has gone 0-2-1 in its last three MLS matches. That includes last week’s 2-0 loss at Western Conference leader Vancouver.
Charlotte FC have been heading the other direction. They played four straight matches without a loss before falling last week at home to Eastern Conference leader Nashville SC, 2-1.
Pep Biel paces Charlotte with four goals and two assists while Archie Goodwin has notched three goals.
Charlotte FC also are coming off a 6-0 U.S. Open Cup win on Wednesday over Charlotte Independence as six players dented the net.
NYCFC topped Charlotte FC in the opening round of the MLS playoffs last year, holding them to one goal in the three-match series.
“Some of the players might feel scars because of that,” coach Dean Smith said. “There may be some scars where people have some things to prove but for me, it’s just a new season, new game.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Orlando City, Houston hope to build off U.S. Open Cup victories
Apr 11, 2026; Commerce City, Colorado, USA; Houston Dynamo FC midfielder Guilherme (20) chases down a loose ball in the first half against the Colorado Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images As Orlando City prepares to host the Houston Dynamo on Saturday night, both teams are coming off victories in the U.S. Open Cup.
But wins have been rare this season for both sides when it comes to MLS league games.
Orlando City (1-5-1, 4 points) and Houston (2-4-0, 6 points) still have time to battle back into playoff contention. Saturday’s matchup provides an opportunity to build toward those goals.
Orlando City’s only MLS victory came March 14 against Montreal, but was followed by losses to LAFC and Nashville by a combined score of 11-0.
This week, though, has been the most positive yet for the Lions after dueling Columbus to a 1-1 tie and scoring a 1-0 win over FC Naples to advance to the U.S. Open Cup’s Round of 16.
Orlando City, which parted ways with coach Oscar Pareja after starting the season with three losses, announced Friday that Argentina native Sebastian Setti, who has coached in MLS, Europe and Liga MX, will join interim coach Martin Perelman as an assistant coach. Martin Ojeda and Marco Pasalic lead the Lions with two goals each.
“It’s important,” Orlando City forward Tyrese Spicer said about the U.S. Cup win this week. “Every game is like a final, as Martin (Perelman) says. We have to stack up the victories one by one and we have to keep building.”
Houston rebounded from an ugly 6-2 loss to Colorado last Saturday with a 4-1 win over El Paso in the U.S. Open Cup.
“We were able to manage the game in the best way possible to set us up hopefully with some success here on the weekend — and on the road where we have not performed well, to be honest,” Houston coach Ben Olsen said.
Midfielder Guilherme has been one of the bright spots for a team looking for consistency. Before the lopsided loss to the Rapids, two of the Dynamo’s losses have been by one goal and another by two goals.
Guilherme has five goals this season, tying him with reigning league MVP Lionel Messi and others for the fourth-most in MLS.
–Field Level Media
