Week 14 Notes and Observations: Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs
By Kemp Moyer
Scouting notes and observations following the Oakland Raiders Week 14 loss in frigid road conditions vs. the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Oakland Raiders have been a rollercoaster all year, with 10 of their first 12 games ending with a thrill. However, In their 13th game of the season, the Raiders thrill turned into a chill. In the freezing night air of Kansas City in December, the Raiders stumbled to a frustrating 21-13 loss, which put the Chiefs atop the hyper-competitive AFC West.
The story of the game was the Raiders’ franchise QB Derek Carr and his receiving targets not finding a mutual comfort zone in the frigid conditions, and the offense stalling Additionally, Raiders OC Bill Musgrave did not appear to recognize the relative effectiveness of the run game, and let the floundering passing game continue to flounder the game away. Ultimately, the Raiders came up small in both 3rd and 4th and short situations — with fade passes targeting backup WRs, rather than pounding the ball to continue the game.
With a pivotal loss, the Raiders fell to a still-very-respectable 10 wins vs. 3 loss record — but dropped all the way from the #1 seed to the #5 seed in the playoff standings due to the very competitive AFC West. Oakland will now have to win at least one more game than KC in the final 3 to retake the AFC West and a playoff bye, with home-field advantage.
Here are various notes and observations from the Raiders’ frustrating road loss, including all areas of the game — offense, defense, and special teams.
The Good – Defense
1. Mack and Co.
Khalil Mack continues to be a wrecking ball on the defensive side and further his case for NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Mack once again secured a strip sack that led to a Raiders’ fumble recovery in the 3rd quarter, and now has five forced fumbles in his last six games, and a sack in eight consecutive games. Simply put, Mack has been playing at a dominant level for months now and appears to be hitting a new stride. Without Mack, the defense would be lost.
Rookie Jihad Ward played well in this game, securing 7 tackles and being the most disruptive force inside. Fellow hybrid DL Denico Autry played “Johnny on the spot” and recovered the Mack strip sack.
Bruce Irvin played his usual solid game. Along with Mack, he led a defense that shut out the Chiefs in the 2nd half and gave the offense one opportunity after another to get back in control of the game.
2. Secondary
The DB of the game was certainly now-established slot CB T.J. Carrie. His 3rd quarter pick sparked the defense and Carrie has looked very good in the slot role since D.J. Hayden went out for the year with a hamstring injury.
Fellow early-season backup safety Nate Allen also played very well, especially coming up to fill in the run game, with 8 total tackles, including many near the line of scrimmage. Allen did well backing up rookie Karl Joseph, who was out with a toe injury.
CB Sean Smith performed much better than his first matchup vs. his former team. However, the Chiefs assaulted fellow corner David Amerson. He was clearly a player Chiefs HC Andy Reid and QB Alex Smith felt they could beat and, especially in the 1st half, they did so.
The DBs will need to step up vs. a dangerous Chargers pass game led by grizzled veteran gunslinger Phillip Rivers. The biggest game key, by far, is the Raiders’ ability to contain the Chargers’ passing game, including TEs Antonio Gates and Hunter Henry.
3. Inside Backers
Malcolm Smith led the defense with 7 solo tackles. Perry Riley Jr. was active as well, with 4 tackles. The Raiders performed much better vs. the run than the first matchup of the year in Oakland. The Chiefs ran for just 65 yards on Thursday night.
Generally, the defense looked improved and kept the Raiders in the game in the 2nd half.
The defense was clearly the best phase in the game on Thursday night and will be tested come Sunday in San Diego.