What happens if Raiders lose or win vs Chiefs today in 2025 NFL regular season finale?

The Kansas City Chiefs will play the Las Vegas Raiders in the 2025 NFL regular season finale. While both teams are eliminated from playoff contention, this was a game with huge ramifications for the Sin City team—before the New York Giants beat the Dallas Cowboys earlier on Sunday.

Thanks to the Giants’ win over the Cowboys in Week 18, the Raiders will have the first pick in the 2026 NFL Draft regardless of their result against the Chiefs. Before the Giants game, the Raiders faced the possibility of needing a loss to secure the No. 1 pick. Now, that’s not necessary, with all eyes already set on the possible selection of quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who won the Heisman and had more touchdowns than incompletions in the Rose Bowl.

With a 2-14 record heading into the regular season finale, the Raiders will finish the 2025 NFL season bottom of the AFC West as they can no longer reach the Chiefs (6-10), also out of playoff contention. Therefore, it’s a game where a win or a loss won’t change much for Las Vegas. For the Chiefs, meanwhile, a win would mean selecting between ninth and 12th in the 2026 NFL Draft depending on other results; whereas a loss would see Kansas City picking no worse than ninth overall.

The Raiders already gave up on their season, putting star defensive end Maxx Crosby in season-ending IR, much to the player’s disgruntlement. After losing 14 out of the last 15 games, something must change and the first pick might be where things change for the betterment of the team.

However, maybe winning should matter

Pete Carroll has been as disappointing as a coach can be during his first year at the helm. Rumors about his future on the team are starting to get hot as well. The team is not sure Carroll should return for a second year after a really below-par season. However, maybe winning a divisional game in Week 18 might help Carroll convince the front office he should stay. Though it’s a double-edge sword, as they could lose the first pick.

Head coach Pete Carroll of the Las Vegas Raiders

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Insiders make major revelation about Pete Carroll’s future with Raiders ahead of the 2026 NFL season

Also, quarterback Geno Smith has also been very underwhelming. However, knowing that the Raiders would likely go for a quarterback, Geno might want to spoil that with a win to remain the quarterback of the team.

This version of the Chiefs is not elite by any means

Without Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs are a very different team. They struggled with No. 15 on the field, but without him, they’ve been one of the worst teams in football. Chris Oladokun is not precisely a world-class QB. The Chiefs aren’t able to score with him, but this Raiders team has been so fragile that who knows what can happen.

The Raiders want to lose this game, but the Chiefs are no guarantee of being able to win this game anyway. However, Kansas City has more motivation to win. This is probably the last game of Travis Kelce‘s Hall of Fame career, and the Chiefs would love for their tight end to go out with a bang.