Raiders Round-Up Week 12: Chiefs Continue Their Dominance Over Raiders

The Raiders started out hot against their division rival, the Kansas City Chiefs. Unfortunately, a great first half fizzled out and Las Vegas lost once again to the perennial Super Bowl contenders. This is nothing new for the Silver and Black, as this marks the 11th time in the last 12 games that the Raiders fell to the Chiefs.

 

However, that doesn’t mean there weren’t a lot of positive things to take away from this game. Starting with the opening drive, the Raiders offense looked hot, clicking in ways we haven’t seen all year. Aiden O’Connell hit Davonte Adams for a beautiful 33 yard reception, and the drive was capped off by a perfectly executed cross route for a touchdown by Jakobi Meyers, and we were cooking early. 

 

Perhaps more impressive was the first quarter defense that the Raiders displayed, holding the high powered Chiefs to a meager 11 yards of offense. This is all the more impressive considering DPOY candidate Maxx Crosby played his fewest snaps of the season, as he struggled to play through a knee injury.  

 

Entering the second quarter, momentum was still going strong as Josh Jacobs ripped off a 63 yard touchdown run, by far his longest of the season. Unfortunately, the Chiefs started to find their rhythm and answered with a lengthy 12 play drive that ended in an Isiah Pacheco touchdown, bringing the game to 14-7. That was immediately followed up with an 8 play drive by the Chiefs to draw even at the half. 

 

As has been the case all year, the second half was far worse for the Raiders. They managed to put up only 3 points and 113 yards of offense in the second half, as the Chiefs continued to roll, scoring on three out of their five drives. In the end, the Chiefs won comfortably, 31-17. 

 

A two score loss to division rivals might seem like cause for concern, yet I’m extremely comfortable with where the Raiders are this year. The primary concern in the first half of the season was our offense. We struggled to make any big plays, and oftentimes looked lost on the field. Under the leadership of Antonio Pierce, the Raiders have averaged more yards and are playing far more cohesively than they did early on. 

 

Even more impressive than that has been our defensive play. Heading into yesterday’s game, the Raiders were averaging only 12.7 points allowed over their previous three games, compared to 23.4 points allowed in their first 8 games. More than that, they were averaging two takeaways per game and nearly 4 sacks per game over that stretch. 

 

That’s not to say that this week wasn’t a struggle. The secondary got lit up, much like they did early in the season, but Antonio Pierce and Champ Kelly are men of action. For as excited as I was when we signed CB Marcus Peters in the offseason, it’s clear that time had caught up. Peters’ age was showing, as he was often beat on routes, or just straight up out of position, missing tackles and interception opportunities seemingly every week. The Raiders decided to release Peters, opening up a spot for younger players who still have their best years ahead of them. Peters was no doubt a welcomed veteran presence in the locker room, but this locker room is not short on leaders. Robert Spillane, Maxx Crosby, and Nate Hobbs have all stepped up, both on and off the field, and will continue to lead this young defense into the future. 

 

Now, with a bye week to rest up, Las Vegas looks ahead to their final five games, four of which are extremely winnable. None of them will be easy, as the Vikings, Colts, and Broncos are all playing far better than they were at the beginning of the season, but so are the Raiders. The Chiefs and Chargers always put up a fight, and it’s just as possible for us to go 4-1 or 1-4 over these five games. I choose to remain optimistic (something that hasn’t often been the case in the last 20 years) and believe the Raiders will finish strong.