Oakland Raiders vs. Kansas City Chiefs: Raiders Get Blown Out by Chiefs

Following a week of activity where the Oakland Raiders traded for quarterback Carson Palmer, the silver and black were set to host a bitter rival in the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. Or were they?

Signs, Signs, Everywhere There's Signs

This game had warning signs at every turn.

Things just had a weird feel, pregame and after the kickoff. Placekicker Sebastian Janikowski was a scratch, running back Darren McFadden left the game limping and didn’t return.  Nobody in the stadium was completely positive on which quarterback the Raiders were going to start and the whole mess resulted in a 28-0 loss riddled with six turnovers by the Raiders.

Coach Hue Jackson was not happy with the turnovers, but suspects that his team will clean things up in that department. "I don’t know that I have seen a six-turnover game, that’s going to be our last one, I promise you that," said Jackson.

The Chiefs started the scoring on defense when Kyle Boller’s first pass was intercepted by safety Kendrick Lewis, and he returned it 59 yards for a touchdown making it 7-0.

Boller threw his second interception of the day to Brandon Flowers down the right sideline intended for Denarius Moore.  The Chiefs took over at their own 39-yard-line, taking full advantage with a 61-yard drive resulting in a one-yard touchdown run by Le’Ron McClain extending the lead to 14-0.

The Raiders first and only relative scoring threat came early in the second quarter, but it ended with them turning the ball over on downs on the Chiefs' one-yard-line after a direct snap to Michael Bush was stopped cold by the Chiefs on fourth and goal at the one.

The Start of a New Era

The Raiders received the ball to start the second half and after three straight incomplete passes by Boller, coach Hue Jackson had seen enough.

The Chiefs went up 21-0 after the punt following the three and out, with a 69-yard drive that was capped off by a 7-yard touchdown run by corner back Javier Arenas, yeah you heard me, cornerback.

Boller finished the day 7-for-14 with a paltry 61 yards and three interceptions.

"I feel bad for my teammates, I feel like I let my teammates down,” said a somber Boller after the game.

The Raiders started their next drive on their own 20-yard-line and the crowd went crazy as No. 3, Carson Palmer trotted onto the field for the first time as an Oakland Raider.  On first down, Palmer completed his first pass for 18 yards to Darrius Heyward-Bey.

From there on out, things just didn’t go the Raiders way.

Looking For Moore

In the first minute of the fourth quarter, Palmer tossed a pick six of his own, a 58-yarder to Brandon Flowers on an out-route intended for Moore, making it 28-0.

Flowers had two interceptions on the day.

Palmer seemed to settle in a bit on the Raiders next possession, driving the team down inside the red zone, but the bottom fell out once again, as a pass intended for Moore was bobbled and intercepted by strong safety Jon McGraw on the Chiefs 9-yard-line.

The Raiders seemed to be looking for Moore all game, No. 17 only caught one ball, but was targeted five times.

Palmer ended the day with three interceptions of his own, with a final line of 8-for-21 with 116 yards.

Who Told Who and When?

Jackson and Palmer were peppered with questions throughout the postgame press conference regarding who knew what and who said what, as far as when the decision was made to start Boller against the Chiefs.  “The plan was not to play all week long, it was kind of deceptive I guess,” said Palmer.

Notes

At the end of the game, Coach Jackson and Chiefs head coach Todd Haley seemed to have words before the postgame hand shake. Jackson pointed his finger at Haley, with Haley walking away after the cold embrace. "That's between me and him, We're going to play them again, we will go to Kansas City at some point and time down the road," Jackson said.

Running back Darren McFadden left the game in the first quarter with a foot injury and did not return.

Tight end Kevin Boss suffered a concussion late in the game and did not return as well.

Darrius Heyward-Bey continues to make his case as the Raiders go to receiver, Heyward-Bey finished with five catches for 89 yards.

Running back Michael Bush was a silver lining for the Raiders. As usual, he proved that he is more than capable of filling in for McFadden.  Bush finished with 17 carries for 99 yards.

All quotes for this article were taken by Gean May at the Oakland Raiders' postgame press conference on 10-23-2011.