Raiders' Film Room: The Play That Changed Week 4 Matchup vs. Chiefs

The Las Vegas Raiders are 3-1 after their Week 4 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Las Vegas entered the matchup looking to confirm where they stand among the league's best. It is still early, but after how close Las Vegas came to beating the Chiefs, it is fair to say Las Vegas might be one of those teams.

Still, Sunday's loss showed the difference between a more experienced staff and roster that have been through many more battles on the field together than their opponent. Kansas City's experience and the Raiders' inexperience kicked in several times, right up until the very end.

Team Loss

The Raiders played complementary football in their first three games, but failed to do so against the Chiefs. One side of the ball failed to hold up their end of the bargain until it was too late. Las Vegas' first loss does not fall solely on any one person's shoulders. It was a team loss.

Las Vegas' mistakes caught up with them, forcing a rushed final drive that fell short. Many believe the Raiders' frenzied final drive was the most costly sequence. Klint Kubiak took responsibility for the drive, and quarterback Kirk Cousins did shortly after, too.

“That's Klint [Kubiak]. He's always going to point the thumb at himself and how he can be better. I think there's a lot going on there. We were trying to get to the optimum play. Clock's running down. I really think in hindsight the mistake I made among hundreds of mistakes probably, but take the delay game, like just take the delay game,” Cousins said after the game.

“Who cares about five yards? We got to get in the right play, get to out of bounds. So I even look there and I say, I was trying to snap the ball to avoid the penalty. And you look and you say, we don't want to be in that position, but if we are, is a penalty better? These are all the things I'm going to probably not sleep tonight and ask myself."

The Play

As Cousins alluded to, the Raiders made plenty of mistakes against the Chiefs. Las Vegas' long list of self-inflicted mistakes set the Chiefs up to steal the win. The Raiders failed to score any points in the third quarter. They allowed a run for over 70 yards and registered several penalties.

The Raiders' defense failed to force a turnover, which is uncharacteristic for this year's defense. There is plenty of blame to go around for Las Vegas' loss, and collectively, they were too much for the Raiders to overcome. Still, one play was undoubtedly more costly than all of the others combined.

Las Vegas fielded a kickoff with less than two minutes left to go in the game while trailing by less than a touchdown. There was reason to believe the Raiders' offense could make a legitimate push down the field for a game-winning touchdown drive. However, receiver Dareke Young fumbled the ball.

Kansas City recovered and scored shortly after. There were plenty of mistakes before that one. However, that was the single-most damaging play on the day for Las Vegas. The Raiders still fought admirably, nearly pulling off the improbable comeback. Still, a loss is a loss.

The fumbled kickoff was a microcosm of how the Raiders' day went on Sunday against the Chiefs. Any time Las Vegas started to make its way back, a self-inflicted mistake set them back. After all of the mistakes the Raiders had made before the fumble, they still had a legitimate shot at winning the game.

Yet, the costly mistake of their own doing made it nearly impossible for the unit to actually make a comeback. Most would say that one play does not determine a game, even in this case. Still, giving the ball back to Patrick Mahomes while already playing from behind with time running out is not ideal.

Las Vegas' kickoff return team has fumbled the ball twice in the past two weeks. Considering the defense just allowed a score, there are few plays that are more of a waste than a kickoff return in which the returner fumbles the ball back to the other team.

The Raiders still have plenty to work on.

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