Arrowhead West no more? Raiders’ fast start could mean Chiefs feel less at home at Allegiant

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Allegiant Stadium has been called Arrowhead West almost since it opened in 2020.

The venue is awash in red when the Kansas City Chiefs visit Last Vegas each year and, at best, it feels like a neutral-site game for the Raiders. The moniker was particularly apt in February 2024 when the Chiefs occupied the Las Vegas locker room for the Super Bowl and practiced at the Raiders ' facility.

But this Sunday could be different when the two 3-0 teams face one another given Las Vegas' strong and unexpected start to the season.

"We know the Chiefs fans travel well,” Raiders star pass rusher Maxx Crosby said. “We have to earn having the full silver and black crowd. We've won three games, but we have a lot of work to do.”

Crosby noted Raiders fans have already made their voices heard this season during games at the Los Angeles Chargers and New Orleans. The season opener against Miami was among the loudest Allegiant has been for a Raiders game.

So it's possible this won't be a typical game against the Chiefs when it's difficult to tell which is the home team.

Secondary market ticket seller Vivid Seats said it expects 64% of the crowd to back Las Vegas. StubHub reported, based on zip codes, that sales appear to be going to Raiders fans by a 4-to-1 ratio, though nearby Chiefs supporters could be responsible for a decent chunk as well.

The Chiefs beat Las Vegas during the first five meetings at Allegiant before losing last season's finale 14-12 when both teams played a load of backups.

It's a different situation this weekend. The Raiders, who have just one winning season since moving from Oakland, California, hope to show their start isn’t a fluke.

Kansas City is looking to take back the AFC West after losing it last season to end its nine-year dominance of the division.

"I love Chiefs fans traveling,” Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes said. “Its always cool to see red in the stands and ‘home of the Chiefs’ at the end of the national anthem. I wouldn't be surprised if it's a very hostile environment, going back to the Oakland Raiders days. They're playing great football, you can see it on tape. That 3-0 record is real.”

Kansas City (3-0) at Las Vegas (3-0).

When/where to watch: Sunday, 4:25 p.m. EDT, CBS.

Latest odds: Chiefs by 4 1/2.

Against the spread: Chiefs 2-1; Raiders 3-0.

Last week: Chiefs beat the Dolphins 24-10; Raiders beat the Saints 35-27.

Last meeting: Raiders won 14-12 on Jan. 4 in Las Vegas.

Series record: Chiefs lead 74-55-2.

Raiders offensive line vs. Chiefs defensive front. Las Vegas' Ashton Jeanty has been hit at or behind the line of scrimmage on 44.4% of his carries, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, for the third most in the league. The Chiefs have gotten into the backfield on 52.6% of rushes, the third highest.

— Chiefs coach Andy Reid is 6-1 at Allegiant Stadium. If Kansas City wins, he would become the all-time winningest coach at the stadium, breaking his tie with former Las Vegas coaches Josh McDaniels and Antonio Pierce.

— A victory would give Mahomes 99 wins in the regular season, which would tie current Raiders minority owner Tom Brady for the most for a quarterback through his first 130 games.

— Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has receptions in 194 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the NFL. It's also the longest in Chiefs history.

— Defensive tackle Chris Jones has 87 1/2 career sacks, just two behind Tamba Hali for second on the Chiefs since it became an official statistic in 1982.

— How much longer can the Raiders' Brock Bowers be called a tight end? He lined up outside on 74% of snaps Sunday at New Orleans, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Bowers, playing his first game of the season after knee surgery, caught 10 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown.

— Klint Kubiak is the third Raiders coach to begin his tenure 3-0. The others were John Madden in 1969 and Bill Callahan in 2002. Madden became a Hall of Famer and Callahan took the Raiders to the Super Bowl that season.

— The Raiders are the only NFL team that has not given up a point in the fourth quarter this season. The 1981 and 1982 teams also didn't allow any points in the fourth period of the first three games.

AP Sports Writer Dave Skretta in Kansas City, Missouri, contributed to this report.

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid walks off the field after an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Miami Gardens. (AP Photo/David Santiago)

Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby reacts after a defensive stop during the first half an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers in Inglewood, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Katie Chin)

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) looks to throw the ball during an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Miami Gardens. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Las Vegas Raiders' Isaiah Pola-Mao (20), Hezekiah Masses (35), Nakobe Dean (17) and Eric Stokes (5) celebrate after Masses intercepted a New Orleans Saints pass during the second half of an NFL football game in New Orleans, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Ella Hall)

BOSTON (AP) — The judge in the Lindsay Clancy murder case on Thursday refused to declare her not guilty, turning down a defense motion that had argued there wasn't enough evidence to prove she was responsible for killing her three children.

During Clancy's first trial, which ended Sept. 4 with a deadlocked jury, her defense argued that she was not criminally responsible because of a mental disease, specifically a rare condition called postpartum psychosis. As such, the defense didn’t dispute that the 36-year-old former labor and delivery nurse carried out the killings at her family's Massachusetts home in 2023.

However, in a hearing earlier this week, Clancy’s attorney Kevin Reddington tried to persuade the judge that prosecutors had not offered any proof that Clancy did it. Prosecutors argued there was plenty of evidence, calling Reddington’s claim “laughable.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.

Prosecutors have yet to decide whether they will put the case in front of a jury for a second time. They could choose to retry her on first-degree murder charges or seek to try her only on lesser charges, including second-degree murder or manslaughter, or drop the case entirely.

In his ruling Thursday, Judge William Sullivan noted that for the purposes of his decision, he was required to analyze the evidence in the light most favorable to prosecutors — and that it was up to the jury, not the judge, to decide whether to believe expert witnesses for the defense who testified that Clancy was not responsible for her actions because of mental illness.

“There was evidence introduced, both physical and circumstantial, that would permit a rational trier of fact to find beyond a reasonable doubt the elements of the charge of murder,” Sullivan wrote.

At the first trial, prosecutors acknowledged that Clancy had mental health problems that included months of treatment and a stay in a psychiatric hospital, but argued that she knew what she was doing when she strangled the children — the youngest just 8 months old — then tried to kill herself.

Sullivan had declared a mistrial with the jury split 11 to 1 in favor of acquitting Clancy of murder charges.

In Tuesday’s hearing, Reddington suggested the entire case “was based on speculation” and listed shortcomings in the prosecution's case. There was almost no police investigation, he claimed, and significant questions revolving around Clancy’s condition outside the night of the killings and her lack of memory of what happened.

At the trial, jurors heard testimony that Clancy said she heard voices instructing her to kill 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan Clancy. Her DNA was found on exercise bands used to strangle them. Before the trial, Reddington himself filed a motion in which he said Clancy was willing to stipulate, in writing, to her involvement in the children’s deaths.

“For the first time, the defendant is arguing that there is no evidence she did this,” Prosecutor Shanan Buckingham told the judge. “I’d suggest to you the entire record is voluminous as to information supporting the fact that she did this.”

Clancy remains charged with murder and is expected to stay at a psychiatric hospital until her case is resolved.

Clancy could have been sentenced to life in prison if convicted of murder. If acquitted, the judge could have ordered her confined to a mental health facility.

Her former husband, Patrick Clancy, who discovered the children's bodies, has said in interviews that he forgives her. The livestreamed trial generated intense public interest and drew attention to maternal mental health after childbirth.

Defendant Lindsay Clancy and attorney Kevin Reddington listen to the commonwealth respond to Reddington's motion for dismissal, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026, during a hearing set to determine the next steps after a mistrial was declared on Sept. 4th, in Plymouth, Mass. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)

Lindsay Clancy's father Michael Musgrove listens to the motions hearing in his daughter's triple murder trial, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026, at Plymouth Superior Court in Plymouth, Mass. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)

FILE - Lindsay Clancy, listens to testimony from a hospital chaplain during her murder trial, Aug. 20, 2026, in Plymouth, Mass. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds, Pool, File)

FILE - Lindsay Clancy, center, speaks with her lawyer Kevin Reddington during proceedings in her murder trial, Aug. 20, 2026, in Plymouth, Mass. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds, Pool, File)