Las Vegas Raiders

Post-Game Recap: Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs

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

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Post-game recap of the Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs Week 14 matchup on Thursday Night Football.

Before the game even got started, the Oakland Raiders had already found themselves in a hole. Superstar guard Kelechi Osemele was a late scratch due to illness, and seventh-round rookie Vadal Alexander was named the starter in his place. Osemele’s absence added to an already notable list of inactives, which included standout rookie Karl Joseph.

It seemed that the bad news carried into Oakland’s opening offensive drive, as they went three and out. But Tyreek Hill muffed Marquette King’s punt, and the Raiders were able to recover.

With the second chance, Oakland nearly blew the extra opportunity to put points on the board, as Amari Cooper appeared to fumble after catching a quick slant. The call on the field was Chiefs ball, but it was overturned after an automatic review. So Oakland was given a third chance, which led to a 44-yard Sebastian Janikowski field goal for a 3-0 lead.

After a total of four possessions between each that that turned up empty, the Chiefs hit pay-dirt first via a 36-yard Alex Smith to Tyreek Hill connection. Amerson was beat in coverage, and Nate Allen was in awful position as Amerson’s help over the top.

7-3, Kansas City.

The Raiders offense struggled to get going, and the Chiefs would add to the lead a short time later. Charcandrick West capped a 7-play, 78-yard drive with a touchdown run from three yards out, giving Kansas City a 14-3 lead with about eight minutes to go until halftime.

At this point in the game, Alex Smith was 11/16 for 202 yards, 1 TD, 0 INTs, and he had completed a pass to six different WRs.

The first half struggles continued for the Raiders. On Marquette King’s fifth punt of the half, Tyreek Hill broke loose for a 78-yard punt return, extending KC’s lead to 21-3. It was his second touchdown of the game.

It wasn’t until the final drive of the first half that Oakland’s offense showed signs of life. Derek Carr led a 14-play, 92-yard drive that spanned 6:11 and was capped by a Latavius Murray touchdown from 1-yard out. This cut the deficit going into halftime to 21-10.

The Chiefs started with the ball in the second half, but wouldn’t have possession for long. T.J. Carrie picked off an Alex Smith pass, and momentum suddenly was with the Raiders. But they only managed to put 3 points on the board, bringing the game within one possession, 21-13.

Khalil Mack then came up with a strip-sack — his fifth in six games — on the next drive, and Denico Autry recovered the fumble. The offense failed to capitalize, though, sending Janikowski out for another field goal. But a bad snap led to a bobbled hold, and King was forced to bail on the field goal. Turnover on downs.

With the defense having forced two consecutive turnovers and a punt, they were doing their part. But on those three drives, the Raiders only accrued 14 total yards, and they scored just 3 points.

It was more of the same for the entirety of the 4th quarter — empty possessions for both teams. That last Janikowski field goal in the 3rd quarter were the only points scored for either team in the second half.

Ugly three and outs, dropped passes, and questionable play-calling was the theme of the Raiders offense all night. The defense stepped up in the second half, helping lead Oakland to a 3-0 advantage in the turnover battle, but the offense didn’t do their part.

The Chiefs were blanked in the second half, but even with Kansas City’s offense stalling, the Raiders refused to lean on the run game, which was productive when called upon. Latavius Murray had 103 yards on 22 carries (4.7 YPC) and a touchdown. Jalen Richard had 29 yards on 8 carries (4.8 YPC).

Instead, in cold weather, with an injured pinky, against a tough secondary, the Raiders threw the ball 41 times. Carr completed just 17 passes for 117 yards.

There was a particularly baffling series of play calls late in the 4th quarter. On 3rd & 1, a fade route was thrown to Andre Holmes, with Marcus Peters in coverage. On 4th & 1, Austin Howard committed a false start penalty, and then on 4th & 6, a fade route was thrown to Seth Roberts, who had multiple drops already.

Game over.

The Raiders had 244 total yards of offense, and the Chiefs had 323. But most of Kansas City’s production came in the first half.

Oakland won the turnover battle 3-0, but committed 10 penalties for a total of 82 yards, including that crucial Howard false start on 4th & 1. Seth Roberts had multiple drops, and Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper both have receiving gaffes.

Cooper had 5 catches for 29 yards on 10 targets. Including one pass that he completely misjudged, which would have undoubtedly led to a Raiders touchdown when they were trailing 21-13. Crabtree had 2 catches for 21 yards.

Nate Allen, filling in for Karl Joseph, led the team with 11 tackles. Mack was the only player to record a sack, and T.J. Carrie had 2 pass deflections as well as an interception. On the Tyreek Hill muffed punt, it was James Cowser who recovered the ball.

The Raiders fell to 10-3 on the season, dropping from the #1 seed in the AFC to the #5 seed. They are on the road against the San Diego Chargers on Sunday, December 18, at 1:25pm PST.