Winners and losers from the KC Chiefs' Week 8 win over the LV Raiders

In their second trip to Allegiant Stadium this calendar year, the Kansas City Chiefs picked up right where they left off.

On Sunday, Andy Reid's team defeated one of their biggest rivals with a 27-20 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Thanks to some solid contributions on offense and several timely stops on defense, the reigning Super Bowl champions have risen to the challenge and are 7-0 on the season. It was another even win for Kansas City, with players making an impact on both sides of the ball.

With that in mind, let's highlight some of the Chiefs' biggest winners and losers from Week 8 of the regular season.

When the Chiefs lost Willie Gay Jr. to free agency, some wondered what it might mean for the linebacker group. As it turned out, Leo Chenal was only able to become the most dangerous version of himself in his third year. After opening Sunday's game as a defensive end, he moved around the defensive formation throughout the afternoon and played an important role in run defense. He also put impressive pressure on Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew early in the second quarter. One word to describe Chenal is disturbingand that's exactly what he was again in week 8.

After an offseason filled with hype surrounding him as the Chiefs' potential next cornerback, Joshua Williams was anything but that in 2024. Sunday was another example of that, as the former fourth-round pick missed a tackle and committed a fumble in the first half costly penalties in the second half. The first was an unnecessary roughing violation on a punt return, and then a defensive holding penalty on third down extended the same Raiders drive. When Las Vegas tied the game at 17-13 after a field goal on that possession, Williams helped make the game closer than it needed to be and put more pressure on the Kansas City offense to respond.

Former first-round pick George Karlaftis is looking more and more like the player who reached new heights last season. This may have been his best game of the year so far. He destroyed two third downs for Vegas, including a pass breakup on one occasion and a sack on Minshew on the other. In the second half, he and defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton combined for a sack on a massive fourth-and-goal stand for the defense. Aside from playing hard on a clever ball fake from Minshew, Karlaftis was excellent all afternoon. It's hard to judge his performance too much.

As good as Jawaan Taylor was at right tackle (more on that in a moment), Wanya Morris was as bad at left tackle in Week 8. The sophomore sniffed out an ugly sack from Tyree Wilson in the first half – and got it on the same play – and committed two consecutive penalties deep in the Chiefs' own territory in the third quarter. In the final frame he was called for another call. Simply put, Morris' game felt eerily similar to what led to second-round rookie Kingsley Suamataia being benched in Week 2. Morris may still have a firm grip on the starting position, but after this outing he shouldn't.

Over the years, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce have established themselves as one of the best duos of all time in the NFL. They hadn't reminded people of that too often this season. They certainly did that against the Raiders, as the two eventually scored a touchdown and Kelce set season highs for goals (12), receptions (10) and yards (90). Mahomes threw two touchdowns and looked far more comfortable and confident. The best signal caller and tight end in football was a lot more like himself over the weekend, which should be a scary sight for the rest of the league.

On the bright side, fourth-round safety Jaden Hicks set a new personal best with nine defensive snaps and also had a tackle on Sunday. On the other hand, however, his performance on special teams doesn't help him advocate for an increased workload elsewhere. Hicks had a difficult third quarter and was called out by Kansas City for illegal blocks on consecutive returns (a punt, a kickoff). The penalties in both cases moved the Chiefs from their own 15-yard line to their own 8-yard line. Establishing holdings so deep within one's own territory is never a recipe for success; Hicks needs to clean this up going forward as he looks to build on an otherwise solid debut season.

In the days leading up to this game, the Chiefs made it clear that they respect the drive and elite talent that Raiders pass rusher Maxx Crosby brings to the table. Taylor was apparently in that group, as he kept Crosby unpressured in 28 duels between the two. All but three of these were one-on-one interviews Next Generation Statisticswhich makes it even more impressive. In a contest that could have been marred by a sack or two from Crosby, he didn't make life much harder for Mahomes. This is a great testament to the work that the offensive line and especially Taylor have done.

Read more: 'Special' defensive stops praised by Patrick Mahomes after Chiefs win