Raiders Defeat Chiefs Despite Poor Play and Poor Officiating on Both Sides

This will be short and sweet.

First, I am really happy that the Raiders beat the Chiefs 23-20 in overtime Sunday.

Really I am.

But I find it hard to get too excited because they just played so poorly for most of the game.

Fifteen penalties for 140 yards, four fumbles with two being lost, overthrows by Campbell to the receivers and way too many dropped passes when he was on target. How they won this game is beyond me.

Only the fact that the Chiefs played worse saved the day.

However, no matter how poorly both teams played, the officials in this game were even worse.

Yes, almost every penalty called against the Raiders was in fact a penalty. Almost.

Almost every call against the Chiefs was a penalty. Almost.

The problem is several calls were made against both teams that just should not have been called, with pass interference being the call the officials messed up on the most.

And what was with the officiating debacle when Kansas City was at the Raiders goal line in the first half? Poor officiating almost took away a touchdown for the Chiefs on that one.

At least they finally got it right, but it really helped the Raiders as all the confusion gave the Raiders defense a much needed breather since the offense couldn’t get a first down to keep the defense off the field at that point in the game.

But the Raiders did win, so that is a good thing for Raiders fans. But football fans have to be scratching their heads wondering how NFL officials can have such a bad game.

I can see a missed call here and there, but the officiating crew in Oakland just didn’t seem to be in control of the game.

As bad as the Raiders played for most the game, there were a few bright spots.

One was Jacoby Ford who made a couple key receptions. One was on a poorly thrown ball by Campbell to help set up the game-tying field goal. The other was a good catch to set up the game-winning field goal by Sebastian Janikowski.

The Raiders defense played very well almost all day as well. Yes, there were too many penalties, some good calls, some bad, but they were on the field for most the game and held in there.

And there was Darren McFadden. He didn’t have a monster game like the past couple weeks, but he played very well.

Before the season started, I questioned McFadden’s drive and desire, but I have to admit he has had a really good year.

One key reason for McFadden’s better play is the Raiders coaching staff using him correctly. He is not a down-after-down, up-the-middle pounding runner. He is better going to the outside, and that is what they have been doing for the most part. Of course, you do have to run him up the middle to keep the defense honest.

If McFadden can keep healthy the rest of the year, he will completely erase any thoughts some have had about him being a draft bust. But he has to stay healthy, which isn’t easy in the NFL.

The Raiders won this game despite themselves and key injuries to Nnamdi Asomugha and Zach Miller. Now, they head to the bye week in better position than they have been in since 2002.