Raiders came in with a game plan and beat the Chiefs: What we learned Sunday vs. Vegas
After reeling off 13 straight wins, including the postseason, the Chiefs didn’t have enough to outlast the Las Vegas Raiders Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Raiders’ offense went toe-to-toe with the Chiefs’ explosive offense and held on for a 40-32 win to snap a five-game losing streak to Kansas City.
The Chiefs also hurt themselves with 10 penalties for 94 yards, but Chiefs coach Andy Reid gave proper credit for the loss.
“My hat goes off to the Raiders,” Reid said. “They did a nice job with the ballgame. They’re improved and you saw it today.”
The loss dropped the Chiefs to 4-1 while the Raiders improved to 3-2, one game out of the lead in the AFC West.
LEAKY DEFENSE
The biggest lesson learned Sunday falls on the lack of consistency from the Chiefs’ defense.
A week after turning in a gem against the New England Patriots, the Chiefs looked lost for much of the game and surrendered too many big plays, especially in the first half. At one point, the Chiefs allowed the Raiders to average an eye-popping 12.5 yards per down.
Raiders rookie Henry Ruggs totaled two catches for 118 yards and a touchdown, while Nelson Agholor hauled in two catches for 67 yards and a touchdown, which came on a 59-yard play. Hunter Renfrow produced a 42-yard catch in the fourth quarter with the Chiefs in a zone defense.
“The big plays, we’ve got to clean that up,” Reid said.
The Raiders used the 12th overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft on Ruggs to add a speedy component to their offense. He missed Weeks 3 and 4 with a hamstring injury and his return effectively announced to the Chiefs that he will be a problem for them for years to come.
Quarterback Derek Carr was on fire in the first half, completing 11 of 13 passes for 246 yards and three touchdowns with an interception for a 126.3 passer rating. He finished the game with 347 yards, connecting with 11 different receivers, and three touchdowns.
Making the Chiefs’ defensive performance more alarming is the fact that they entered the game ranked second against the pass (195 yards per game) and welcomed back cornerback Bashaud Breeland, who notched an interception. But instead of getting stronger, they struggled.
Cornerback Charvarius Ward had a bad first half and the Chiefs turned to Rashad Fenton. Safety Tyrann Mathieu, who can play inside as a nickel cornerback, was beat deep on Agholor’s 59-yard touchdown.
Reid indicated the switch to Fenton was indicative of Ward’s performance. Instead, Ward’s left hand, which he fractured in Week 1, was an issue.
“His hand was bothering him a little bit,” Reid said. “We decided we’d go on third down with him and use him there.”
The Chiefs, who also welcomed defensive tackle Chris Jones back to the lineup, couldn’t get any consistent pressure on Carr and finished the game with just one sack and four quarterback hits.
Jones gave credit to the Raiders for devising a plan to slow down the Chiefs’ pass rush.
“They came out with some formations we haven’t seen on film and they starting throwing shot, especially out of (shot)gun,” Jones said. “They caught us off guard a little bit. As a D-line, we harp on making sacks on the quarterback and we didn’t come out and execute today.”
After allowing an average of 17.5 points per game through the first quarter of the season, the Chiefs surrendered their most points in a regular-season game since a 35-32 loss to the Titans in Week 10 of last season.
Issues against the run remain, too. The Raiders rolled up 143 yards on the ground, while second-year pro Josh Jacobs paced the attack with 77 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries. The Chiefs entered Sunday’s contest ranked 28th in the league and didn’t do anything to instill confidence that they can do better going forward.
“We knew the were running the ball and we tried to play for it,” Jones said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t stop them. I’m not pointing fingers at anyone; it was a defensive effort. We just didn’t stop them.”
Kansas City should be concerned about Week 5’s defensive letdown with the Buffalo Bills waiting in the wings, but the defending Super Bowl champions believe problems can be fixed because of how the defense performed down the stretch in 2019.
“When we make big plays on the football, we get big sacks, turnovers, we got to find a way to play consistent after that,” Mathieu said. “I think that’s the new challenge for us. How can we protect leads? How can we get out in front and play the kind of defense that we’re accustomed to playing that we got used to playing?”
MAHOMES’ SO-SO DAY
Mahomes’ 8-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Sammy Watkins gave the signal-caller a scoring pass in 15 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the NFL.
He completed 22 of 43 passes for 340 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception — his first this fall — for an 83.5 passer rating. Mahomes added 21 yards rushing and a touchdown on six carries.
That’s the good, from a statistical point of view..
Now, the not so good: Mahomes’ interception came in the fourth quarter with the Chiefs down 33-24 and trying to get back in the game. The Raiders promptly scored a touchdown on Josh Jacobs’ 2-yard touchdown plunge over the top.
The Chiefs’ quarterback isn’t a turnover machine by any means, as evidenced by his relatively low total of 18 interceptions over the past three seasons entering Sunday’s game. So overall, this shouldn’t be much of a concern.
NOTABLES
Tight end Travis Kelce finished the game with 108 receiving yards, marking the 20th time in his career he’d produced a 100-yard game. Kelce is now tied for second-most 100-yard receiving games in club history with wide receiver Otis Taylor. The superstar tight end has also caught a pass in 100 straight games, the fifth-longest active streak in the NFL.
Wide receiver Tyreek Hill’s 10-yard touchdown run in the first half gives him a touchdown in five straight games. Hill finished the game with three catches for 78 yards and 15 yards rushing and the TD on three carries.
Kicker Harrison Butker entered the game with 457 career points, needing six to pass Tony Gonzalez (462) for fifth-most points scored all-time in team history. The fourth-year kicker did it with a 32-yard field goal to close out the first half.
INJURIES
Left guard Kelechi Osemele suffered a right-knee injury in the first quarter and was carted off the field. Reid revealed after the game that Osemele tore tendons in both knees; linebacker Anthony Hitchens left in the second quarter with a hand injury, but returned; wide receiver Sammy Watkins left late in the second quarter with a hamstring injury and did not finish the game.
UP NEXT
Week 6’s Chiefs-Bills matchup, originally scheduled for Thursday Night Football, was moved during Sunday’s game to 4 p.m. CT on Monday, Oct. 19. It’ll be in Buffalo.
This story was originally published October 11, 2020 at 4:02 PM.
