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Week 14 Notes and Observations: Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs
Scouting notes and observations following the Oakland Raiders Week 14 loss in frigid road conditions vs. the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Oakland Raiders have been a rollercoaster all year, with 10 of their first 12 games ending with a thrill. However, In their 13th game of the season, the Raiders thrill turned into a chill. In the freezing night air of Kansas City in December, the Raiders stumbled to a frustrating 21-13 loss, which put the Chiefs atop the hyper-competitive AFC West.
The story of the game was the Raiders’ franchise QB Derek Carr and his receiving targets not finding a mutual comfort zone in the frigid conditions, and the offense stalling Additionally, Raiders OC Bill Musgrave did not appear to recognize the relative effectiveness of the run game, and let the floundering passing game continue to flounder the game away. Ultimately, the Raiders came up small in both 3rd and 4th and short situations — with fade passes targeting backup WRs, rather than pounding the ball to continue the game.
With a pivotal loss, the Raiders fell to a still-very-respectable 10 wins vs. 3 loss record — but dropped all the way from the #1 seed to the #5 seed in the playoff standings due to the very competitive AFC West. Oakland will now have to win at least one more game than KC in the final 3 to retake the AFC West and a playoff bye, with home-field advantage.
Here are various notes and observations from the Raiders’ frustrating road loss, including all areas of the game — offense, defense, and special teams.
Dec 8, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) is defended by Oakland Raiders linebacker Cory James (57) during a NFL football game at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The Good – Defense
1. Mack and Co.
Khalil Mack continues to be a wrecking ball on the defensive side and further his case for NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Mack once again secured a strip sack that led to a Raiders’ fumble recovery in the 3rd quarter, and now has five forced fumbles in his last six games, and a sack in eight consecutive games. Simply put, Mack has been playing at a dominant level for months now and appears to be hitting a new stride. Without Mack, the defense would be lost.
Rookie Jihad Ward played well in this game, securing 7 tackles and being the most disruptive force inside. Fellow hybrid DL Denico Autry played “Johnny on the spot” and recovered the Mack strip sack.
Bruce Irvin played his usual solid game. Along with Mack, he led a defense that shut out the Chiefs in the 2nd half and gave the offense one opportunity after another to get back in control of the game.
2. Secondary
The DB of the game was certainly now-established slot CB T.J. Carrie. His 3rd quarter pick sparked the defense and Carrie has looked very good in the slot role since D.J. Hayden went out for the year with a hamstring injury.
Fellow early-season backup safety Nate Allen also played very well, especially coming up to fill in the run game, with 8 total tackles, including many near the line of scrimmage. Allen did well backing up rookie Karl Joseph, who was out with a toe injury.
CB Sean Smith performed much better than his first matchup vs. his former team. However, the Chiefs assaulted fellow corner David Amerson. He was clearly a player Chiefs HC Andy Reid and QB Alex Smith felt they could beat and, especially in the 1st half, they did so.
The DBs will need to step up vs. a dangerous Chargers pass game led by grizzled veteran gunslinger Phillip Rivers. The biggest game key, by far, is the Raiders’ ability to contain the Chargers’ passing game, including TEs Antonio Gates and Hunter Henry.
3. Inside Backers
Malcolm Smith led the defense with 7 solo tackles. Perry Riley Jr. was active as well, with 4 tackles. The Raiders performed much better vs. the run than the first matchup of the year in Oakland. The Chiefs ran for just 65 yards on Thursday night.
Generally, the defense looked improved and kept the Raiders in the game in the 2nd half.
The defense was clearly the best phase in the game on Thursday night and will be tested come Sunday in San Diego.
Dec 8, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) returns a punt for a touchdown past Oakland Raiders punter Marquette King (7) and safety Keith McGill (39) during the first half at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
The Bad – Special Teams1. Punt GameMarquette King has placed himself far more in the public eye than your average NFL punter. Between great performances, signature dance moves, penalties, and even his off field persona, King is not your average punter.The problem is on a night like this where things go south. King averaged a paltry 31 yards on 8 punts. Tyreek Hill took one back to the house. Travis Kelce mocked his dance. It was a BAD night.2. CoverageThe Raiders’ coverage has been excellent this year, but not on this night. As mentioned above, the Chiefs’ final TD came on the Hill punt return score, which itself was just after a Raiders’ coverage penalty. It was an uncharacteristic bad night for the coverage unit.3. FG/PATSebastian Janikowski was on point, 2-for-2 on FGs and nailed his lone PAT. However, the Raiders botched another FG attempt due to a bad snap from LS Jon Condo and a bad hold by King. It came as the Raiders looked to close the gap to 21-16 in the 3rd quarter. Oakland never scored after the botched attempt.Overall, it was Raiders’ worst game on special teams of the year, and must be cleaned up vs. the Chargers. If you remember the initial matchup of the season, the Raiders won when the Chargers themselves botched a FG hold. Special teams can win or lose games.Next: Week 14 Notes: Offense Dec 8, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) throws a pass against the Kansas City Chiefs during a NFL football game at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The Ugly – Offense1. Derek Carr’s forgettable nightDerek Carr’s high quality 2016 season and the team’s performance put Carr in the MVP conversation. However, Thursday night put a big dent in all that.Carr easily had his worst game of the season. He connected on just 17 of 41 passes for a paltry 117 yards. The sub-3 yards per attempt is putrid.After leading the Raiders to multiple wins this year, Carr gets a mulligan, to at least some degree. But the performance was not a winning one, and Carr deserves his large share of the blame. He was simply not himself. Was it the pinky? The elements? The Chiefs game plan? The drops? Probably some combination of the above.The Raiders need Carr to be better in the home stretch and playoffs. Hopefully the 10 days of rest will help his throwing hand be at better health.2. WRs ugly nightThe Raiders’ pass catchers, led by Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree, have been a team strength all year. On Thursday, they were a weakness.Cooper actually led the team with just 5 catches for 29 yards. Coop whiffed on a potential game-changing deep ball that had some force act on the ball as it came down. It was a strange play and certainly game-changing, as Coop had the KC DBs beat for a likely TD. The ball fluttered to the ground untouched.Seth Roberts was inexplicably targeted 9 times, including the final offensive play of the game on a 4th and 1 fade (huh?) — in those 9 targets he caught just 2 balls for 12 yards. Ugly. Roberts’ drops have been an issue.Michael Crabtree had just 4 catches for 21 yards, had his own share of drops, and appears to also be dealing with an injured finger.TEs Clive Walford and Mychal Rivera were generally better than the wide outs, with a combined 5 catches for 47 yards. But, overall, the pass catchers were bad on this night.3. KO kidney stonesThe Raiders’ OL is a huge strength, but on this night, they were missing emotional leader Kelechi Osemele. He missed the game with kidney stones. Ouch.Without Osemele, perhaps Musgrave felt the Raiders would not be able to run the ball as well. The high pass-run ratio points that direction. However, the run game was much stronger than the pass game despite KO’s absence.Overall, the line played well. Carr was sacked just one time and the Raiders ran for 135 yards. The OL was not the ugly part, despite missing their most talented player.4. Murray the lone bright spotLatavius Murray was the lone bright spot among the skill position players. He ran for 103 yards on 22 carries and popped in a highly contested TD.The Raiders’ decision to throw fades to Andre Holmes and Roberts on 3rd and 4th and 1 with the game in the balance made no sense with how the game flow was progressing. It should have been Murray plowing for a first down and keeping the game alive.Overall, despite Murray’s solid game and the fine play from the OL, the passing game was so ugly, the overall team completely stalled. Even when the Raiders secured two straight short fields off turnovers in the 3rd quarter, the offense could only muster 3 points. It was the offense that held down the ship on this day. It must get back to normal to clinch a playoff spot in San Diego Sunday.
Oakland Raiders Week 14 ConclusionThe 2016 Oakland Raiders have been a rollercoaster ride all year. This game was the part of the coaster that causes you to throw up.The Raiders must now rebound and rally back to, first, guarantee a return to the playoffs and, second, hopefully retake the AFC West from KC. They will need wins and help from others to get that opportunity. The first step is heading to division-rival SD and taking down Rivers and the Bolts.See you here next week for notes on what is hopefully a return to the win column for the current AFC Wildcard Oakland Raiders.More from Just Blog BabyWin and You’re In: The Raiders Can Clinch a Playoff Spot on Sunday3h agoT.J. Carrie should have been the Week 1 Starter5h agoOakland Raiders Down to 4th in ESPN’s NFL Power Rankings7h ago2017: Oakland Raiders vs. Patriots on Monday Night in Mexico City9h agoOakland Stadium Deal Takes a Step Forward14h agoThis article originally appeared on
