Andy Reid says his ‘heart goes out’ to Pete Carroll after Chiefs’ shutout win over injury-depleted Raiders

Andy Reid’s first regular-season shutout was bittersweet, to say the least. 

Following the Chiefs’ 31-0 win over the Raiders, Reid showed empathy for Pete Carroll, whose team was dominated from the start against a Kansas City team that entered the game as a 13.5-point favorite. The Chiefs led 21-0 at halftime and would go onto record its first regular-season shutout since 2011 and its first since Reid came to Kansas City in 2013. 

“My heart goes out to Pete,” Reid said afterward. “The injuries are crushing for him. Especially when 98 (Maxx Crosby) goes out of the game. … I know it’s the Raiders, but I hate seeing that happen.”

As Reid alluded to, Las Vegas (2-5) been been hit hard by injuries of late. They started the game without several key starters that included tight end Brock Bowers and receiver Jakobi Meyers. Las Vegas then lost Crosby during the game when the perennial Pro Bowl pass rusher left the contest for good during the first half with back and knee injuries. 

Despite the injuries, Carroll said afterward he didn’t see Sunday’s outcome coming. He said the drubbing was a reminder of how much work his team has to do in the weeks ahead. 

“They’re a terrific team,” Carroll said of the reigning three-time AFC champion Chiefs. “They did everything like they do. They played really well in all phases and kept us totally at bay. We couldn’t make a first down and couldn’t get off the field. They just did like they do. 

“We have a lot of work to do. We have a lot of catching up to do. We’ve got to get our guys back. The keys guys that missed the game were key guys on our football team, and we weren’t able to overcome that.” 

Carroll commended his team for its effort on Sunday, but the fact was the Raiders were simply outmatched. The Chiefs scored touchdowns on their first four drives and led 31-0 before Patrick Mahomes and several other starters were taken out of the game by the start of the fourth quarter. 

The score, while bad, doesn’t fully tell the story of how dominate of a win this was for the Chiefs. Kansas City had 30 first downs to the Raiders’ three, had 434 total yards to the Raiders’ 95, and didn’t allow Las Vegas to convert on any of its seven third-down situations. 

Kansas City could have easily added to its lead in the fourth quarter, but elected to run the ball on fourth-and-goal after recovering a fumble deep in Raiders’ territory. The Chiefs then started kneeling on the ball well before the two-minute warning. 

Reid certainly isn’t going to apologize for a win, especially one against one of the Chiefs’ longtime division rivals. It’s clear, though — based on his decision to not run up the score Sunday in addition to his postgame comments — that Reid clearly feels for Carroll, his longtime coaching peer who is trying to revive a franchise that hasn’t won a playoff game since capturing its most recent Super Bowl berth at the end of the 2022 season.