The Raiders overwhelmed the Chiefs up front. The end of the win streak starts there
The unbeaten run spanned 336 days, 13 wins and a Super Bowl trophy, but on Sunday, the manner in which it ended illustrated the cause ever so suitably.
The Raiders beat the Chiefs 40-32 at Arrowhead Stadium, a sentence that is more than mildly surprising. Quarterback Derek Carr had never won here, and no team in the NFL entered the week as a bigger betting underdog than Las Vegas. There were big plays against a defense that had allowed so few; there were stagnant offensive drives from a team that rarely lacks flow.
But when the Chiefs attempt to pinpoint the source of their first lost since last November, they will look to a theme that overwhelmed and disrupted the rhythm on both sides of the football — down the final drive.
Up front.
Particularly on the offensive side.
“I thought offensively we probably could’ve done a better job there when it’s all said and done,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “Defensively, I thought they probably got the better of us in the first half, and then in the third quarter, we did a good job stepping up. We have to put something together offensively to keep the defense balanced and off the field.”
The final draft captured it aptly.
Trailing by 8 with just under 4 minutes remaining, the Chiefs elected to kick the ball deep. — to pin the extension of the game on their defense.
Instead, the game-sealing drive — one in which the Chiefs expected the run and still could not stop it — swung to the more physical side. On Sunday, that was never in doubt. Josh Jacobs carried the ball on back-to-back plays for a first down. The Chiefs burned both timeouts. Granted one final chance to return the ball to Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs were beaten at the line on a fourth-down quarterback sneak.
Game over.
Win streak over.
“Defensive line, we’re better than that,” Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones said, later adding, “I feel like we gotta do a better job, especially in the front four. When the defensive line is playing dominant, we actually don’t even need the linebackers, and we make it easier for the guys in the back. D-Line, we’ll make the adjustments; we’ll make the corrections; we’ll come in next game firing on all cylinders.”
The Chiefs sacked Carr only once, though we’re using that term only technically. Carr slid just shy of the line of scrimmage, crediting Willie Gay, the closest player to him, with a sack. The Chiefs touched Carr three other times — Jones and Ben Niemann hit his throwing hand, and Daniel Sorensen got in a hit late in the game.
That’s it.
Busy on the other side, though.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes spent the majority of the day scrambling in an effort to extend plays. Out of necessity. The Raiders brought pressure with only four rushers, leaving the downfield options limited and the intermediate routes covered.
Mahomes owned some of the blame for an offense that sputtered after putting up 24 points in the first half, though he acknowledged the Chiefs cannot rely “on these crazy plays where I’m scrambling around, throwing these shots, and (instead) just execute the offense the way it’s called and the way it’s supposed to be ran.”
What he didn’t say: Those scrambles were often the only way to provide the Chiefs a chance at turning the play successful. Despite his wizardry in extending plays, the Raiders still sacked him three times. They also forced holding penalties on three other drop-backs.
“Anytime you’re going backward — holding calls, things of that nature — that doesn’t really give the offense a chance to succeed against a good team,” Chiefs right tackle Mitchell Schwartz said. “Especially, you can’t have negative plays.
“You can’t be detracting from the percentages. Touchdown drives especially plummet when you give up a sack or (take) a penalty. It definitely has to be better. We know that. And coming out, that’s probably going to be the biggest thing we work on.”
This story was originally published October 11, 2020 at 5:19 PM.