3 Takeaways from Raiders' Week 12 Loss vs. Chiefs
The Las Vegas Raiders suffered their sixth straight defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
The Raiders once again could not contain the Patrick Mahomes-Travis Kelce combination, and in addition to that, Rashee Rice ran all over the Vegas secondary.
Las Vegas was competitive for a good stretch of the AFC West battle, but it did not have an answer in the fourth quarter once it went down by two scores.
The Raiders dropped to 5-7 going into their Week 13 bye, and while the momentum from the Josh McDaniels firing is gone, they still have an outside chance to make the playoffs if everything goes right in the final five weeks of the regular season.
Raiders Failed to Contain Chiefs' Top Pass Catchers
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Las Vegas allowed 198 receiving yards to Kelce and Rice.
The tight end-wide receiver duo thrashed the Las Vegas secondary on their 14 combined catches. Rice was the only member of the duo to score a touchdown.
The 91-yard concession to Kelce came after the Raiders held the tight end under 40 yards in both meetings last season.
Last season's low totals were just exceptions in Kelce's overall performance against the Raiders in his career. He now has eight games with 90 or more receiving yards versus Las Vegas.
Rice's 100-yard performance hurt the Raiders even more because they could have gotten by with not containing Kelce but limiting every other pass-catcher.
Instead, the Raiders let Mahomes carve up their secondary and that allowed the Chiefs to pull away in the second half.
Offense Offered Nothing in Fourth Quarter
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The Raiders lost the final stanza by 10 points.
The Aidan O'Connell-led unit offered little on the final three drives while Mahomes worked his way down the field on two scoring drives.
The Raiders punted after eight plays on their first fourth-quarter drive and then hopelessly turned the ball over on downs on the next two series.
The fourth-quarter struggles were a bit surprising since the Raiders moved the ball well in the first half behind Davante Adams.
Las Vegas' first three drives went for more than 60 yards and two of them resulted in touchdowns.
The Raiders could not find the same consistency in the second half and that ultimately doomed them against their divisional rival.
Bye Week Rally Is Needed
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As bad as the last two weeks have been, the Raiders still have a chance to make some noise in the AFC wild-card race out of their Week 13 bye.
Las Vegas plays the Minnesota Vikings, Chiefs and three teams in directly in front of it in the wild-card race to end the season.
If the Raiders replicate their first-half performance from Sunday, they could contend versus the Vikings, Los Angeles Chargers, Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos.
Antonio Pierce's team needs to beat the Vikings in Week 14 to make the late-season push and earn key head-to-head wins over the Colts, Chargers and Broncos.
Las Vegas can apply some successful things from Sunday's loss to Week 14 and beyond.
Jakobi Meyers had his best pass-catching performance in over a month and the defense contained Mahomes for one quarter.
They may not seem like big things to build on, but the Raiders can draw from some Sunday positives to rally and make a run at the wild-card spots.
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