Las Vegas Raiders

Chiefs: Team grades in win over Raiders

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Oct 16, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Kansas City Chiefs tight end Demetrius Harris (84) celebrates after a play against the Oakland Raiders during the fourth quarter at Oakland Coliseum. The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Oakland Raiders 26-10. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

On Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs walked into a soggy O.co Coliseum and walked out with their sixth victory in four seasons against the Oakland Raiders.

The Chiefs were not favored in this game and many thought that the three hours of rain before the game would make the offense one dimensional. To be fair the Chiefs ran the ball 40 times compared to only 23 passes but it didn’t matter. The Raiders still couldn’t stop Spencer Ware and Jamaal Charles.

After the first series the real trouble looked to be on the defensive side of the ball. Quarterback Derek Carr looked comfortable and poised as he marched the Raiders down the field for an opening score. Afterwards the Chiefs were forced to punt and the Raiders had the ball back. It looked as though the Chiefs were in for a long day against a resurgent team.

However, a semblance of pressure was able to force Carr to throw off his back foot and into the arms of Marcus Peters. Things changed from there and the Chiefs suddenly knew how to move the ball. They never looked back on their way to a 26-10 victory.

October 16, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Kansas City Chiefs running back Spencer Ware (32) scores a touchdown against Oakland Raiders outside linebacker Bruce Irvin (51) during the first quarter at Oakland Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Offense: B-

Alex Smith had some of his best passes throwing to the sideline. They were pretty balls that dropped just over defenders and into the hands of his receivers without breaking stride. It reminded me of the game last year against Buffalo. Something apparently changes in Smith when the rain comes pouring.

He found several targets on his way to getting the Chiefs into scoring range six times. The only problem I have with the way he played is that once the Chiefs had a lead, he stopped throwing to Travis Kelce. Kelce should have dominated deep over the middle but his only catches came on short routes.

This may be due to the conservative play calling of Andy Reid once he has a lead but as a Chiefs fan I want to dominate the Raiders. This game should have been 35-10 the way the offense was able to move the ball. Where do the quick slants go when the Chiefs get inside the 10? Those routes kill and yet they continue to throw behind the line of scrimmage to try and get touchdowns.

It is the Chiefs’ lack of passing touchdowns and conservative nature that drops the offense to a B-. They played well and moved the ball but against New England in the playoffs that will not work. Hopefully they will continue to progress and open the passing game as the season evolves.

Oct 16, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders running back Jalen Richard (30) down after a play against the Kansas City Chiefs during the fourth quarter at Oakland Coliseum. The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Oakland Raiders 26-10. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Defense: A-

Other than the first drive of the game the defense played very well. Dee Ford had one of his best games as the Chiefs held the Raiders to 286 total yards. The most impressive stat to me is the rushing yards were a season-low 65.

The Raiders could not get anything going all day with running backs Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington. Derrick Johnson had one of his better tackling games and definitely had the hit of the game. All of the front seven did very well in run defense and containing the Raiders attack.

The only issue continued to lie in pass rushing. Dee Ford, Tamba Hali, and Chris Jones were the only players that graded positively in pass rush according to ProFootballFocus. Justin Houston can start practice this week but I wouldn’t expect him to get into a game until November and then he probably wouldn’t be 100 percent until at Denver on the 27th. He may see time at Indianapolis on obvious passing situations simply because of the Colts terrible offensive line.

The secondary performed fairly well despite still learning the game. DJ White has made strides but the Chiefs cannot continue to put him in one-on-one situations and expect him to shut down receivers. It won’t happen for a while.

Phillip Gaines can’t appear to stay on the field but even when he was he didn’t play well. The Chiefs are going to take more time to become dominant in the secondary but they won’t get much rest this week as they face a very high powered offense in the Saints next week.

Oct 16, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Kansas City Chiefs kicker Cairo Santos (5) after missing a field goal against the Oakland Raiders during the second quarter at Oakland Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Special Teams: B

This really should be graded into two halves as the Chiefs in the first half had difficulty on special teams by missing both an extra point and a field goal. However, in the second half they played perfectly with a made extra point and two field goals. Cairo Santos is a good kicker that let the field condition get into his head and he tried too hard to compensate. Once he shook that off, his kicks were perfectly down the middle each time.

The punting was good with Colquitt continuing to be a solid but not overly powerful punter. He pinned the Raiders inside their own twenty twice but thankfully with a wet ball and nasty field, he wasn’t called on too often.

Tyreek Hill is bringing exciting kick and punt returns back to Kansas City. His 50 yard punt return in the third quarter showed just a fraction of his potential. Knile Davis could be done as his concussion left room for Hill and DeAnthony Thomas to take over return duties.

Coaching: B

Andy Reid is 16-2 after a bye. That is the main story line from this game as the offensive game plan was boring but effective. Boring but effective is usually what describes Andy Reid and Alex Smith. The offense gets too cute down in the red zone and as much as I love Dontari Poe getting touches, why don’t they ever throw a fade or slant? Every other team throws fades and slants in the end zone except for the Kansas City Chiefs.

The defense played with limited talent yet performed above their station against a very good Raiders offense. That all points to adjustments made by Bob Sutton at halftime. When you hold a team’s top scoring receiver to 2 catches for 10 yards you had a good day. They even limited Amari Cooper in the second half after he went off in the first. The Chiefs will continue to grow as a defense but face a tough test this next week against New Orleans.

What are your grades, Addicts? Let us know in the comments and thanks for reading!