Kansas City Chiefs vs. Oakland Raiders: Oakland Grades, Notes and Quotes
The Oakland Raiders' 34-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs boils down to a fourth-quarter meltdown that allowed the opposition to score 20 unanswered points en route to victory.
The Raiders concluded a solid first half on a strong note, scoring a touchdown before intermission. Oakland held the momentum. The defense stifled the Chiefs' two-man backfield and forced turnovers to create extra opportunities for the offense.
Kicker Sebastian Janikowski’s failed point-after attempt in the third quarter occurred as the first mishap of many to come for the Raiders in the second half.
Quarterback Derek Carr threw three interceptions in the fourth quarter. Kansas City capitalized on each turnover, scoring 20 points off the miscues—including a final pick-six for Chiefs safety Tyvon Branch.
Ironically, Branch may have snatched his former team’s playoff dreams away with one play.
Oakland attempted to push the ball downfield for one final opportunity, but late sacks ended an embarrassing quarter for the offense.
Position Grades for Raiders
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Quarterback: D+
Carr’s confidence clouded his judgment on the first interception. He held onto the ball too long and tried to throw a pass in a crowded area, which never ends well for the offense.
At the very least, he sacrificed three potential points and gave the Chiefs early momentum leading into an avalanche.
Young quarterbacks often try to do too much when previous events work in their favor. Carr flipped an ill-advised pass to running back Latavius Murray and tried to repeat the outcome with another delayed pass to wideout Seth Roberts. The result backfired.
Carr must grasp a better understanding of situational football. On the possession leading to the first interception, the Raiders ventured into field-goal range up 20-14 with only a quarter left to play. The turnover swung the momentum, and Oakland never recovered.
Running Backs: C-
A new game presented the same pattern for the Raiders rushing attack.
Murray started off on fire, taking five carries for 50 yards and a touchdown on the opening drive. He followed a blazing start with 36 yards on 15 carries for the remainder of the game.
Fullback Jamize Olawale recorded two carries for 16 yards in his typical miniscule workload.
Wide Receivers: C-
Amari Cooper, Roberts and Michael Crabtree caught 13 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown combined. However, Crabtree slipped on a passing route, leading to an easy interception. Cooper dropped a critical first-down catch and the ball bounced off his hands on the final interception.
Tight Ends: B
The Raiders heavily featured tight ends in the passing attack. Lee Smith caught a touchdown pass. Clive Walford (five catches, 53 yards) logged season highs in catches and yards in one game.
Offensive Line: B-
Overall, the offensive line held up and allowed Carr to pick apart the Chiefs secondary in the first half. Kansas City sacked Carr four times, but two of those sacks occurred on the final drive in full-blown chaos.
The run blocking didn't provide gaping holes, but Murray had opportunities to break off a few more runs. He averaged a paltry 2.4 yards per carry after the first drive of the game.
Defensive Line: B+
Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith scrambled with his head on a swivel for most of the game. Edge-rusher Khalil Mack logged two more sacks and dominated Chiefs offensive tackle Eric Fisher.
The defensive line also stifled Kansas City’s power rushing attack, which gained 100 yards on the ground in five consecutive contests. The Chiefs’ running back duo accumulated 16 carries for 61 yards and one touchdown.
Linebackers: B+
Curtis Lofton reinserted himself as a force in run defense. Malcolm Smith bull-rushed into the backfield on several occasions to stop the rushing attack. Rookie Ben Heeney saw an increased snap count and pressured the pocket effectively.
Secondary: B-
Chiefs wide receiver Jeremy Maclin racked up yardage in chunks in the first half, but the defense kept him out of the end zone.
In the second half, Maclin benefitted from exceptional field position en route to two scores. Kansas City took over inside Oakland's 15-yard line prior to both touchdown passes.
Safety Charles Woodson forced one fumble and recovered two. At the end of the second quarter, his fumble recovery put the Raiders in position to score before halftime.
Special Teams: D
Janikowski made two of three field goals and missed on an extra-point attempt.
Unfortunately, Janikowski’s missed field goal further drained the Raiders of any momentum in the final quarter.
He missed a 49-yard kick in between Carr’s second and third interceptions that would have cut the Chiefs' lead to four points with a 27-23 score.
Coaching: B-
Despite allowing 34 points, defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. devised a solid plan to slow down Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. The Raiders have likely rid themselves of tight end coverage issues.
However, the Raiders turned the ball over in their territory on three occasions. The Chiefs took over inside the 20-yard line after each turnover, which puts the defense at a huge disadvantage.
Offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave also devised a solid plan, but the execution fell way short of expectations.
On Sunday, the players on offense failed to execute with costly drops and poor decisions in critical moments, which has very little to do with coaches' game-planning.
Raiders' Third Loss When Leading After Three Quarters
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According to Associated Press writer Josh Dubow, Sunday marks a third loss for Oakland when leading after three quarters.
The aforementioned statistic plagues young teams still finding ways to close out games in critical moments. The Raiders played a solid football game on both sides of the ball for 45 minutes against the Chiefs.
As we all know, coaches preach about playing smart football for 60 minutes. The Raiders committed three costly turnovers and botched execution on several plays. In its developmental stages, this team still lacks a clutch gene.
Mack Adds to Sack Total
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We’re finally witnessing Mack at his best. On Sunday, he logged two sacks, which pushes his total to nine for the season.
Since linebacker Aldon Smith’s suspension, outlined by the team's website, Mack has turned his play into high gear. He continues to overpower the opposition in pursuit of the quarterback, racking up four sacks in two games.
He could potentially end the season as one of the top five sack leaders in the league, which shows amazing skill for a linebacker transitioning to defensive end.
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Del Rio on Carr: Probably Trying to Do Too Much
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At the postgame press conference, head coach Jack Del Rio told local reporters exactly what most spectators saw on their televisions.
“Probably, trying to do too much,” said Del Rio in reference to Carr’s fourth-quarter play.
The Raiders head coach also opened the press conference outlining his team’s poor execution on the first four fourth-quarter drives, which resulted in three interceptions and a missed field goal.
“The fourth quarter got away from us,” said the Raiders head coach.
Del Rio didn’t play the blame game, but said his quarterback still has much to learn to reach his full potential.
Derek Carr on His Third Interception
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Carr discussed all three of his interceptions with local reporters. He expressed dissatisfaction for not making enough plays for the victory and broke down his decision-making process prior to the third interception.
"It’s a tight-window throw," said Carr. "It’s probably not a throw, I’d throw early on in a football game, but we [needed] some chunk plays. You got to make a tight throw like that. It just happened to get tipped up."
After Janikowski missed a field goal on the previous drive, Carr obviously felt pressed to make a play downfield. He took his chances with Cooper, and a tipped pass became Branch’s highlight in a victory against his former team.
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All statistics are provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com, Pro Football Focus and Team Rankings, unless otherwise noted.
Raiders Week 13 play-by-play provided by NFL.com.
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