Chiefs Rout Bumbling Raiders, 40-9
by Tom LaMarre
The Oakland Raiders were playing with a chance to tie for AFC West lead, but instead their season is on life support.
The Raiders made one mistake after another and the Kansas City Chiefs turned them into a 40-9 rout and a two-game sweep of the season series in cold, windy weather on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
Oakland didn’t score a touchdown until Derek Carr hit tight end Derek Carrier in the end zone from three yards out with 40 seconds left in the game, but the Chiefs added insult to injury when defensive end Tanon Kpassagnon blocked Daniel Carlson’s extra point and Charvaius Ward returned it for the final two points of the game.
The Raiders’ defeat came on the heels of an embarrassing 34-3 loss to the New York Jets a week earlier, giving them consecutive losses of more than 30 points for the first time since 1961.
“The Chiefs are a very good football team, but we just made too many mistakes,” Coach Jon Gruden said. “The mistakes were a big part of this game. We had 12 penalties and I think they had none. I’m not disappointed in our effort, but we have to learn from this. We’ve done this in two straight big games.
“I know where the Chiefs and where we are, and we’re going to do our best to get to where they are. We had some opportunities to cash in and didn’t do it. They did. We just couldn’t ever get a rhythm.
“This is a tough place to play—the environment, the weather and we had a lot of bad field position. We have to get better and that’s on me.”
The Raiders had 332 total offensive yards to 259 for the Chiefs, but Oakland committed three turnovers and was called for 12 penalties for 99 yards, while Kansas City did not turn the ball over and was not penalized.
Oakland (6-6) has lost its last two games after winning three in a row and trails the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-5) and Tennessee Titans (7-5) for the final AFC wild card playoff spot with four games remaining.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs (8-4) are well on their way to winning the AFC West for the fourth straight season.
The Chiefs also beat the Raiders, 28-10, in the second game of the season at the Oakland Coliseum, have won the last four games in the series and 11 of the last 12. Kansas City has won the last seven meetings at Arrowhead Stadium, where Raiders quarterback Carr is 0-6—and 2-9 in his career against Kansas City.
The Raiders’ only victory in the series in the last five years came when Carr hit wide receiver Michael Crabtree on a two-yard touchdown pass with no time left to turn back the Chiefs, 31-30, at the Coliseum in 2017.
Carr, who completed 20-of-30 passes for 222 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions this time, might not mind having Crabtree back because for most of the game his wide receivers couldn’t seem to get open. They had only one catch for eight yards until the game’s final minutes.
Last week, the wideouts had several dropped passes against the Jets.
Perhaps the biggest play of the game against the Chiefs came when safety Juan Thornhill picked off Carr’s pass and returned it 46 yards for a touchdown to give the Chiefs a 21-0 lead with 2:46 left in the first half.
“(Thornhill) just made a great play,” said Carr, who threw an interception on the opening series that led to the Chiefs’ first touchdown. “When I came off the field, Coach (Gruden) just said, ‘(Thornhill) came off (his man) and just made a great play. But interceptions, it doesn’t matter how they happen. You just have to try to forget them.
“We’ve played two terrible games in a row. It’s hard when you get beat like that two straight weeks. We’re better than that and we have to get ready for the next game because there’s still a lot at stake.
“You can sit in the corner and sulk, but that’s never the way I’ve been.”
Tight end Darren Waller again was Carr’s favorite receiver with seven catches for 100 yards and running back DeAndre Washington had three receptions for 44 yards.
It was of no consolation that Josh Jacobs rushed for 104 yards on 17 carries and became the first Raiders rookie to rush for 1,000 yards in a season, finishing the day with a total of 1,061.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs, who threw four touchdown passes against the Raiders earlier this season, didn’t have a big game by his standards. Mahomes completed 15-of-29 passes for 175 yards and one touchdown, in addition to scrambling 13 yards for another score.
The Raiders return home to face the Titans in another big game next Sunday and a week later host the Jacksonville Jaguars, which figures to be their last game in the Oakland Coliseum since they are moving to Las Vegas next season.
“We just didn’t play well and all we can do now is get ready for next week,” rookie defensive end Maxx Crosby said.
In more ways than one, the Oakland Raiders are running out of time.
