The Raiders had a chance to take first place in the AFC West on Sunday night against the Chiefs, but instead, Kansas City took control and looked like their old selves, beating Las Vegas in blowout fashion, 41-14.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was decisive with the football, avoiding the Raiders pass rush to throw for 406 yards and five touchdowns, while Raiders QB Derek Carr couldn’t keep his offense in a rhythm.
Now, Kansas City is in first place in the AFC West after a slow start to their season. The Raiders, on the other hand, were humbled in this nationally televised drubbing.
But some Raiders performed better than others. Here are this week’s winners in losers for the 5-4 Raiders.
Winners
A.J. Cole
There weren’t many bright moments for the Raiders in this one, clearly. But one early good turn of fortune for Las Vegas came from a most unexpected place.
Punter A.J. Cole forced a fumble after one of his kicks (which came after a 3-and-out from the Raiders), handing Las Vegas ball near midfield, down 7-0 late in the first quarter.
Cole earned some league-wide respect with that hit. The Raiders capitalized on the field position and tied the score, on one of their paltry two touchdowns on the night.
Hunter Renfrow
Wide receiver Hunter Renfrow scored the Raiders’ only touchdown a week ago on a pass from Carr, and he hauled in another Carr throw for six points against the Chiefs. It was a red-zone conversion, just like last week. His catch put the score at 7-7, giving the Raider equal footing after a rough start.
But after that short scoring drive, Las Vegas didn’t have a drive of more than five plays until their last effort in garbage time. Meanwhile, the Chiefs moved the ball methodically down the field all evening long.
After a dud of a game last week, WR Bryan Edwards had a bounce-back performance. He caught Carr’s other touchdown pass on the Raiders’ first drive of the second half, good for 37-yards. (That was the only drive after Renfrow’s score that had five or more plays, finishing at five plays for 75 yards in just 2:52.)
Edwards had just three catches on the evening but they were good for 88 yards and the score. But in a game that saw Carr lead the team in rushing with 18 yards, the Raiders offense just didn’t have it Sunday night.
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Losers
DeSean Jackson
The Raiders offense hasn’t looked like itself for the last couple of weeks, but this was supposed to be the game that Las Vegas’ new acquisition, WR DeSean Jackson, gave Carr’s group a boost.
It almost worked. But like almost everything during this game, it didn’t pan out for the Raiders.
With Las Vegas down just 24-14 in the third quarter, Jackson caught a 38-yard pass that got the Raiders into scoring territory. Unfortunately for Las Vegas, his awareness was way off and he was stripped of the football.
That’s certainly not the start the Raiders envisioned for Jackson in Las Vegas. The Chiefs tacked on a field goal in the ensuing drive, and Carr threw a wild interception on the drive that followed that one. The Chiefs scored again to lead 34-14 early in the fourth quarter.
Maxx Crosby
Defensive end Maxx Crosby didn’t play terribly against the Chiefs, but expectations for him entering this game were sky high and he failed to deliver.
Kansas City was down to its third-team right tackle, Andrew Wylie. It was natural to assume Crosby would have a field day. But in a plot twist, Wylie and Crosby were teammates at Easter Michigan before entering the NFL.
Wylie got the better of the matchup. Familiarity no doubt helped his cause. Mahomes threw the ball quickly all night to help his depleted line, too. Crosby appeared frustrated, drawing an unsportsmanlike penalty for throwing running back Darrel Williams after the whistle in the third quarter.
Rich Bisaccia
Life can turn quickly in the NFL. For Raiders interim coach Rich Bisaccia, he’s lost two games as Las Vegas’ leader after winning his first two, and despite the Raiders’ 5-4 record, it appears he and his staff have a lot of work to do.
Case in point: this fake field goal from the Chiefs in the fourth quarter.
That’s not a good look for Bisaccia, who still serves as the Raiders special teams coach. Though the Las Vegas secondary had issues all night, not just on this play.
But the above snap, along with most of the others on Sunday, propelled the Chiefs to the top of the division once again. All evening long, Bisaccia appeared powerless to stop it.
He’ll probably have trouble fixing the offense, however, which went 1-for-9 on third downs against the Chiefs. That’s up to Carr and offensive coordinator Greg Olson. Perhaps next week, Jackson will have better luck at wide receiver and alleviate the pressure that’s been palpable on that side of the ball lately.
The Raiders will face the Chiefs again, thankfully, but not until Week 14. Will that game matter as much as this game did? Time will tell. A Las Vegas win next week at home against the Bengals would count a long way toward that end.
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